MADURAI: State President of Samam Kudimakkal Iyakkam CJ Rajan here on Tuesday demanded that Sivasubramaniam, suspect in the Mettupalayam wall-collapse case, and his family members be booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
He also demanded that officials who failed to take action based on complaints lodged by the Dalits earlier should also be booked under the SC/ST Act.
Rajan said the police, which booked Sivasubramaniam under IPC Section 304 (a), failed to understand the caste angle in the case.
The compound wall constructed by Sivasubramaniam and his family was to prevent the movement of Dalits, which itself is an atrocity against them, he said.
Instead of taking action against those responsible for the tragedy, the police beat up protesters, including Tamil Puligal leader Nagai Thiruvalluvan on Monday.
"The State Human Rights Commission should take suo moto cognizance of the issue and initiate action against police personnel who thrashed the protesters," he said.
Solatium announced by the State government should be raised to Rs 25 lakh, he added.