With Ilavarasan’s death reviving communal tensions in parts of Dharmapuri district, police have stepped up vigil in sensitive areas and heavy picketing has been posted at villages dominated by caste Hindus to prevent any untoward incident.
As a precautionary measure bus services were suspended on certain routes and a holiday has been declared for 28 schools.
Shops had rolled down shutters in Naickenkottai, Nallampalli, Mookkanur, Sengalmedu, Ariyakulam, and Krishnapuram villages.An official release from the Dharmapuri Collectorate said, schools including Government Adhiyaman Boy’s Higher Secondary School, Avvaiyar Government Girl’s Higher Secondary School (in Dharmapuri Town) and the primary, middle and higher secondary schools in Kondampatti, Krishnapuram, Natham Colony and Naickenkottai will be closed on Friday.
Amidst escalating tensions over the death of Ilavarasan, the Dharmapuri Superintendent of Police Asra Garg, who rushed back to the district from Nilgiris, appealed for calm until the autopsy on the Dalit youth’s body is completed.
On Thursday evening scores of relatives and Dalit activists thronged the Government Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital where Ilavarasan’s body was brought for postmortem. The angry kin sought enquiry into what they described as “murder” of Ilavarasan.