TIRUPUR: Despite a surge in activism against caste-based violence, Tirupur’s tryst with media attention for all the wrong reasons continued on Friday when a young couple and an elderly relative was allegedly beaten up by members of a community at Thalanji Kattu Pudur near Kangayam. The assault was reportedly the fallout of animosity over an inter-caste marriage.
Sources said that Kasthuri (25), her husband Sivasankaran (26) and father-in-law Natarajan (53) were undergoing treatment at government Tirupur hospital after the assault. The issue first started last year when Sivasankaran married Kasthuri, a Dalit girl.
Though the marriage was solemnised with the blessings of their parents, the villagers were apparently miffed by the inter-caste union and made their displeasure known to the family by arbitrarily restricting them from drawing water, and prohibiting temple entry.
While tension was simmering between the family and the villagers, matters came to a head on Friday when the couple, along with Natarajan, was returning from Vellaikoil. The villagers allegedly stopped them in their tracks and hurled abuse at them. Soon, the verbal attack snowballed into mob frenzy and all the three were assaulted.
Even a pregnant Kasthuri was not spared. The grievously injured trio was first taken to government Kangayam hospital, from where they were referred to government Tirupur hospital.
Later, Sivasankaran lodged a complaint with the Kangayam police alleging: “The people have been restricting our stay in the village citing our inter-caste marriage. During our return from the native place, the villagers abused and attacked us. They even pushed down my pregnant wife.”
Police sources said that a case has been registered against two villagers under the section 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The accused would be arrested soon, they said.
District secretary of Adhi Thamizhar Peravai Vendhan Makesh said, “The suspects should be detained under Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act for attacking a Dalit woman, and befitting punishment should be awarded.”
The victims have also planned to submit a petition with collector K S Palanisamy for a swift probe. Efforts to contact Kangayam DSP M Selvam went in vain.
Probe ordered into ‘untouchability’ wall
Coimbatore: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has directed the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation to investigate on a complaint related to the construction of an ‘untouchablity’ wall at Uppilipalayam in the city.
The wall had been constructed to keep Dalits from accessing the 60-feet scheme road that passes through Shruthi Enclave, spread over 8.02 acres and consisting of 137 flats. The issue was brought to the attention of the Commission by petitioner N Palanisamy, an 86-year-old farmer from a scheduled caste. He appealed to the national body to have the wall removed. The petition also noted that the enclave has not been approved as a gated community.
