TIRUPPUR: The vice-chairman of Dhali town panchayat, who is from a Scheduled Tribe, was assaulted by a dominant caste man in his office on December 18.
The incident came to light on Sunday when CPI(M) cadre staged a protest near the town panchayat office, demanding the arrest of the suspect. Dhali police have filed a case under sections of SC/ST (POA) Act.
The victim K Selvan, (37) is from Kurumalai settlement in Thirumurthy Nagar. He is the state deputy secretary of TN Tribal People’s Association and member of CPM.
The panchayat is developing a crematorium adjacent to the Udumalai canal in the town.However, some land-owning farmers opposed this. This allegedly caused friction between them and Selvan. On December 18, when Selvan was in his office, M Karunakaran, a dominant caste farmer, arrived there and allegedly attacked him in front of other officials.
Speaking to reporters, P Shanmugam, a central committee member of CPM, said, “Dominant caste members have been opposing Selvan as the vice-chairman of the town panchayat from the beginning. The attack on him is an expression of their hatred and anger towards the community.”