Pudukottai collector, SP urged to conduct inquiry on attack on Dalit women

MADURAI: Executive Director of Evidence, an NGO, A Kathir has urged the police department to arrest those who beat three Dalit women while they were taking bath in Kothangudi kanmoi in Pudukottai district on January 1.
 
In a press statement, Kathir said Sakthidevi, Devi, and Sridevi from Kothangudi village in Aranthangi block were allegedly insulted and beaten up by caste Hindu men namely Iyyappan and Muthuraman. "They also abused the women using caste names and threatened to kill them. Following this, Sridevi lodged a complaint with the Nagudi police station on January 3. Though the police filed a case under sections of the SC/ST Act, no arrest has been made yet," he said.

"Meanwhile, Iyyappan's wife who is also the vice-president of Perungattu panchayat met District Collector Kavitha Ramu and claimed no such attack or insult had happened. She had also taken a few SC community members along with her to the collectorate to endorse her statement.

When members of Evidence conducted a fact-finding study on the incident, it was revealed that Aranthangi Tahsildar Balakrishnan claimed that there was no water in the kanmoi and hence the complaint was fake. So, Collector Kavitha Ramu and Superintendent of Police Vandita Pandey must conduct an inquiry in person with the three victims," Kathir added. The victims have also lodged complaints with the State SC/ST Commission, SHRC, and State Women Commission regarding the incident.