NAMAKKAL: Three people have been arrested for alleged caste discrimination after denying haircut to a nine-year-old boy at Thirumalaipatti village, near Rasipuram, on Wednesday. A case has been filed against the three under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
They are S Muthu (58), Rajesh (32) and Selvraj (33), all residents of Thirumalaipatti, Mohanraj, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Rasipuram said.
The boy is a Class-3 student at a government school and belongs to a Scheduled Caste community. The barber and two others who backed him have been arrested under the SC/ST POA act and remanded, said police. The matter came to light after Arunpandiyan (33), a Scheduled Caste man from the village filed a complaint stating that his son was denied a haircut and discriminated against based on his caste.
A video of two people arguing with the barber went viral on social media. “A video of a Caste Hindu barber arguing with two other youths spread on social media on Wednesday. The youths can be seen urging with the barber to cut the hair of the child and not to discriminate against him on the basis of caste,” police added.