An 18-year-old Caste Hindu boy was arrested for allegedly deserting his Dalit lover after making her pregnant with the promise of marriage.
“N Kuppan, a native of Chellankuppam, in Villupuram district, was arrested for deserting the 17-year-old girl. He was produced before the court and was remanded in judicial custody,” Paramathi-Velur DSP, B Udayakumar said on Sunday.
Both the boy and the girl were employed in a brick kiln at Olugurpatti under Paramathi police station limits, when they fell in love some months ago and had physical relationship.
When the girl’s parents, who hailed from Vazhapatti in Villupuram district, came to know that she had conceived, they approached the boy asking him to marry her. However, he is said to have refused to tie the knot citing the caste, sources said.
A complaint was lodged with the Paramathi police on Saturday following which the DSP held an inquiry and booked Kuppan under sections 376 and 506 (i) of the IPC and 3 (2) (5) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Sources claimed that a large number of men belonging to the PMK from Villupuram district had camped in Paramathi-Velur and tried to save the boy from being arrested.
Meanwhile in Dharmapuri, a five-member panel constituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu on an order from the Madras High Court, received grievances petitions from Dalit victims of Natham Colony and Sengalmedu in the Naickenkottai area of Dharmapuri district on Sunday.
The panel, led by additional secretary (agriculture) R Vasuki, received grievance petitions along with photo evidence from victims after cross-checking details of damages.
The panel also visited the affected Dalit colonies. Those who submitted petitions to the panel said proper assessment was not made by the revenue officials. They said the officials of the assessment committee under estimated the damage. They demanded that the panel verify the physical units, including houses, vehicles, jewels and valuables damaged in the incident.
The panel comprises additional secretary (agriculture) R Vasuki; commissioner, animal husbandry, R Palanisamy; RDO of Attur, P Muthuramlingam; RDO of Salem, R Sathish; and Krishnagiri RDO, T Manoharan.
The panel would hear the grievances of victims of Annanagar on Monday and Kondampatti on Tuesday.
In a caste-conflict, as many as 268 houses in Dalit colonies of Natham Colony, Annanagar, Kondampatti and Sengalmedu, in the naxal-infested Naickenkottai area, were attacked by a caste-Hindu mob after the death of Nagaraj, a caste-Hindu of Chellankottai, whose daughter Divya fell in love and married a Dalit boy E Elavarasan of Natham Colony.