
The demand for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is gaining ground with respect to the Vengaivayal caste atrocity case of December 24, 2022.
The CB-CID, which has been probing the case, submitted before the Madras High Court on Friday that the case relating to dumping of human faeces in the overhead tank serving water to the Dalit people of Vengaivayal hamlet in Pudukottai district has been solved.
To the shock and dismay of the Dalit people, the CB-CID named three whistleblowers as accused in the charge sheet.
They are a police constable J Murali Raja, 32, B Sudarshan, 20 and Muthukrishnan, 22.
The Dalits have been accusing the Mutharaiyar community in the hamlet of being responsible for the incident.
Further, soon after this atrocity came to light, authorities led by then collector Kavitha Ramu had visited the hamlet and found that caste atrocities in various forms such as "double tumbler system" was practiced by caste-Hindus against the Dalits.
The CB-CID also informed the High Court that final report in the case was filed on January 20, 2025 before the Pudukottai special court for cases under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.
“How is this possible?,’ activist and writer Shalin Maria Lawrence queried overwhelmed by shock and surprise.
Murali Raja was the person who first found the faeces in the water tank on December 26, 2022. It happened thus that he had come to the village on leave and while having tea he suspected a foul smell.
Subsequently, human faeces was found floating on the surface of the water in the tank. His mother was among those who fell ill and were hospitalised, Shalin recalled.
It was on December 24, 2022, that Gopika Shree, the six-year-old daughter of one Kanagaraj fell ill. She was referred to the Pudukottai government hospital. SImilarly, the two-and-a-half-year-old daughter of one Kannadasan also fell ill. Several others also fell ill. The reason for their illness came to light two days later.
Senior advocate Mohan and Shalin said the police and the authorities made the Dalit youths get rid of the faeces then and there.
"The police thus destroyed the evidence in the case without opting for a forensic examination," Mohan noted.
Advocate Marx Raveendran, who had filed a PIL on behalf of the Dalit victims, first in the Supreme Court and later on the apex court's direction, in the High Court seeking a CBI probe, said that he will be filing a counter affidavit on March 10, the day the court will be hearing the case again.
Marx Raveendran noted that the Madras High Court on March 29, 2023 had constituted a one-man commission headed by retired High Court Judge V Sathyanarayanan to probe the incident. The court had ordered the commission to file a report within 3 months. But there was no indication of the report having been filed.
Advocate Manoj said that right from the beginning the police have been insistent and coercing the Dalit youths to say they are guilty.
"The Dalit youths were even taken to Chennai by the police and beaten up," Shalin Maria Lawrence pointed out.
A Fact finding team had also found that the police coerced the victims to own up responsibility.
Director Pa Ranjith in a statement issued on social media on Friday questioned, “who is being made the sacrificial lamb to save whom?” Ranjith as well echoed the view to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation. He also posted a documentary by Neelam Social Centre titled Vengaivayal Atrocity, Makkal Kural (Voice of the People).
The ruling DMK has been already facing flak for failing to take action against those responsible behind the incident. A DMK ally and Dalit outfit VCK has been more or less silent on the issue.
“The party has issued a press statement following Friday’s court order,” said VCK MP D Ravikumar.
The VCK and another ally CPI (M) also demanded that the Vengaivayal case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).