The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Monday described the recent violence in the Naickenkottai area in the district, in which 268 huts in three Dalit colonies were set on fire, as “out and out pre-planned”.
Speaking to journalists here after visiting the affected villages of Natham Colony, Annanagar, Kondampatti and Sengalmedu, NCSC chairman P L Punia said it was “organised crime”.
The violence occurred after a man committed suicide on November 7 over his daughter’s marriage to a Dalit. Petrol bombs were hurled at vehicles and valuables looted from houses. The idea was to inflict heavy economic damage on the prospering Dalit populace in the area, Punia claimed.
Though there was no casualty, all the houses were damaged, including those of several women self help group (SHG) leaders. SHG savings and loan amounts were looted, he said.
Punia pointed out that the mob attacked a Dalit family in Kondampatti where an inter-caste marriage had happened three years ago. It clearly showed that the mob was bent on revenge.
Forty houses were totally damaged while 175 others were partly damaged and need renovation. The State government had provided only temporary relief, he said, adding that lack of intelligence was the reason why the incident could not be prevented. Pegging the loss around Rs 7 crore, Punia said the NCSC will soon submit its recommendations to the State government on providing assistance to the victims. He suggested that the district administration constitute a peace committee and the victims follow a policy of ‘forgive and forget’ to avert such incidents in future.
The NCSC, he said, found that Dalit women and children were yet to overcome the shock and fear. His report would recommend that the government set up a team to counsel the victims.
As schoolgirls were now afraid to go to their schools, they needed bus facilities with police protection, he said.