VILLUPURAM: Three Dalit youths were on Friday assaulted by a group of dominant caste people for trying to enter a temple at Melpathi village near Villupuram.
It was the concluding day of the annual festival at Sri Dharmaraja Draupati Amman temple. The temple is renowned for conducting the Dharmaraja Pattabishekam festival once every 60 years, and was last held in August 2022. It also hosts a nine-day annual festival during the Tamil month of Panguni, which began on March 30.
Dalit youth K Kathiravan (23) and his two brothers, Karthikraja and Srikanth attempted to enter the temple for darshan. But the caste-Hindu people foiled their attempt to offer prayers at the temple and assaulted them.
"We (Dalits) were never allowed to enter the temple. But last year, we were able to go inside and offer prayers during the festival. So, this year also were went to the temple. (It was made possible by the presence of police personnel and media persons) But we were beaten up," Kathiravan told The New Indian Express.
Hearing about the insult meted out to Kathiravan and his siblings, Dalit residents vented their ire by blocking the Kumbakonam to Chennai highway. Police held discussions with the protesters before they chose to give up their stir.
The Revenue Divisional Officer S Ravichandran and District Deputy Superintendent of Police G Parthiban convened a peace meeting on Saturday. Dalit residents of the village said that they donate one lakh rupees towards the annual festival. They also sponsor the seventh-day ceremonies of the annual festival every year. Despite that, they were denied entry into the temple.
The meeting decided that people belonging to all communities can enter the temple. The representatives of caste-Hindus agreed to take legal action against those who stopped Dalits from entering the temple.
Kathiravan and his brothers were treated at the Government Villupuram Medical College Hospital.
Kathiravan's father has asked the police not to register a case immediately. He would let the police know about his decision in a couple of days. Police have been deployed in the village as a precautionary measure, said a senior police officer.