
CHENNAI: Ending months of mystery shrouding the abominable act of mixing faecal matter in potable water in an overhead tank that supplied drinking water to Dalit households in Vengaivayal in Pudukottai district in December 2022, Tamil Nadu CB-CID on Friday informed the Madras High Court that investigations revealed that three persons had committed the offence of contaminating the water due to personal motive.
The submission was made by Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran before the first bench of Chief Justice KR Shriram and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy when the petitions regarding the issue came up for hearing.
He informed that the CB-CID filed the chargesheet in the special court for SC/ST cases in Pudukottai on January 20, 2025.
According to a status report filed in the High Court, thee persons-J Muraliraja, B Sudharshan and K Muthukrishnan committed the offence to take revenge upon Muthaiah, husband of the Muthukadu panchayat president Padma after a tank operator, Shanmugam, was terminated from service.
“Considering the prevailing motive against Muthaiah and to take revenge upon him, Muraliraja falsely claimed that the water supplied from the tank on December 26, 2022 was turbid with bad odour. Along with Muthukrishnan and Sudharshan, he climbed up the water tank and committed the offence,” the report stated.
It added that the CB-CID has conducted ‘fair and thorough investigation’ and filed by the final report in the special court for SC/ST Act cases on January 20, 2025, against the three persons after analysing the photos, videos, report of the TN Forensic Sciences Laboratory, medical reports, expert opinion and witness statements.
Shanmugam was distributing water to the Dalit village Vengaivayal from the overhead tank in Iraiyur. He was removed from service by a resolution passed by the Mutukadu panchayat president Padma. The Vengaivayal residents approached Padma’s husband Muthaiah to take back Shanmugam but he did not oblige, the CB-CID said.
Further, it added that there was a dispute between Muthaiah and Muraliraja’s father Jeevanantham over cleaning the water tank.
When the counsels for the petitioners sought time to file a reply to the status, which was filed as an affidavit by the CB-CID, the bench adjourned to March 27.