MADURAI:An elderly Dalit man from a village near Usilampatti on Sunday attempted suicide after he was allegedly beaten up by a caste Hindu after the cattle the Dalit was herding accidentally trespassed into his property.
While Dalit N Bose (60) is recuperating at the government hospital in Usilampatti, the Uthapanaickanur police have arrested A Chinna Veerathevar (40) under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police said Bose was herding the cattle of Mathiyazhagan in his field when they accidentally crossed over into the fields of Chinna and destroyed a small area of sugarcane grown. leading to Chinna beating him up.
Unable to bear the humiliation, Bose, on Sunday allegedly consumed the pesticide kept for using in Mathiyazhagan’s cotton field. On a complaint from Pandiammal, the sister of Bose, police arrested Chinna.