SIVAGANGA: The Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under the SC/ST Act in Sivaganga on Monday found 27 people guilty in a case pertaining to the murder of members of an SC community at Katchanatham in 2018. The court is likely to pronounce the full judgment and quantum of punishment on Wednesday.
In May 2018, three persons belonging to an SC community K Arumugam, A Shanmuganathan and V Chandrasekar, were hacked to death allegedly by members of a caste Hindu community at Katchanatham village in Sivaganga. Five other SCs were seriously injured in the attack. The violence followed a dispute between the two communities over the bestowing of temple honours.
Members of the SC community had lodged a complaint at Palayanoor police station against the caste Hindus, including C Suman. When his father was taken in for police questioning, Suman and his friends allegedly engaged in the violence. The police registered a case under various Sections of IPC, Section 3 of PPDL Act and Sections 3(1)(R)(S), 3(2)(V) of the SC/ST Act. The trial started in October 2018, with 33 people named as accused. Last year, the Madurai Bench of Madras HC directed the trial court to dispose of the case within two months.
On Monday, the court found 27 out of 33 accused, including Suman, guilty under various Sections of IPC and SC/ST Act. Of the other six, two had died during the trial, one is still absconding and three others were juveniles.