In yet another case of discrimination against inter-caste couple, a caste Hindu man from Veppamarathoor village in the district alleged that he was being harassed by locals for marrying a girl belonging to a Dalit community.
Narrating the cruel treatment at the hands of caste Hindus in his village, Suresh, the victim, says “This society is not allowing me to lead a peaceful life for the simple reason that I have married a Dalit girl. The villagers are not allowing us to enter the temple in my village. Adding pain is that police officials are also not taking any action against the caste-based outfits, which were allegedly behind the discrimination.”
Suresh, a resident of Veppamarathoor village and a member of a intermediate caste, married S Sudha, a Dalit resident of Parayapatti village in Harur Taluk on April 21, 2010, with the blessings of both families. Everything was going fine in the couple’s life until May, 2013 when Veppamarathoor villagers found out that Sudha belonged to a Dalit community. “Though the caste issue never cropped up between both families, villagers started interfering in personal matters and ostracised our family,” Suresh alleged.
Unable to bear the harassment of locals, Sudha had filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court, which directed the Superintendent of Police, Dharmapuri to provide protection to the family and the couple. However, problems did not end for the couple, as villagers prevented them from entering the local temple.
Speaking to Express, Suresh said, “When we tried to enter the Mariamman temple in my village last Friday, the priest along with three others locked the doors and denied us permission to pray. We informed about the villagers’ behaviour to Harur DSP V Sampath and Bommidi Inspector Murugesan, But, no action has been taken so far. In fact, Sampath advised us to leave the village and Murugesan threatened to arrest us in a false case.”
Reacting to Suresh’s claims, Superintendent of Police Asra Garg, said, “I will go to the village tomorrow (Tuesday) and investigate the matter. If the complaint is found to be genuine, I will surely take action.”