VILLUPURAM: A Dalit woman reporter has allegedly been threatened by dominant caste members of the same village over past feuds, and her family members, including a pregnant woman, were physically assaulted at V Sithamur village near Villupuram on June 22.
The family has demanded immediate police action, claiming that the key accused have not yet been arrested even after two weeks following the alleged caste atrocity.
Police arrested the fourth accused, Kumar, last week.
The first encounter between the accused and S Priya (name changed) (27), a reporter at a private media channel in Villupuram, began in January 2023 after she named two suspects in her complaint about two bikes stolen from her house.
After an inquiry with the suspects, brothers E Ragu and E Anbu, the police learnt that the two were regularly involved in bike thefts and recovered 15 bikes and two tractors from them during the investigation.
However, Priya’s bikes were never found.
"After the brothers were released on bail, they threatened Priya for accusing them," said Priya’s mother (58).
Three years later, on June 22 this year, Anbu and a private insurance agent were allegedly getting into a scuffle in front of a petty shop outside the house owned by Priya’s family.
Her brother, S Sanju (31), who was at the shop then, asked the two to move and not engage in a fight near the shop as it might affect business.
Sanju told TNIE that Anbu had left the place, but returned later with Ragu and other friends. The gang allegedly began using casteist slurs against Sanju and physically assaulted him.
“My wife, my brother’s wife, and my mother got out of the house hearing the commotion and tried to defend me. While continuously hurling caste slurs and abusive words against the women, the men physically assaulted me. Ragu purposefully hit my wife with slippers thrice and pushed her away. She is four months pregnant. They also manhandled my mother and her saree tore off,” Sanju told TNIE.
The entire incident was recorded by the CCTV camera placed at Sanju’s house. During the incident, the men allegedly warned the family that they would attack her when she leaves home to work, for filing a complaint against dominant caste members.
Priya, Sanju, and his wife filed a complaint with the Arakandanallur police on June 23.
Following this, Ragu, Anbu and two others were booked under SC ST PoA Act, the TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and the BNS.
Police are yet to arrest Ragu, Anbu and one more accused. Police officers from the station told TNIE that the accused duo’s location was identified in Bengaluru, Karnataka, but they are struggling to trace their exact location.
“Despite the video evidence of the incident, the police are not arresting the culprits. My sister-in-law is going through huge distress in her second trimester; we are helpless. Meanwhile, the men had also warned my family that they would attack me. But I continue to do my work beyond the fears of these casteist men,” said Priya.
Speaking to TNIE, human rights activist V Lalitha, who is currently providing legal aid to the family, accused the police station of repeatedly mishandling caste atrocity cases under their limit over the last few years.
“Vadakaraithalanur, Vasantha Krishnapuram, Veerapandi Pulikkal, and Kadakanur are villages under the police station where atrocities, including mass violence and murder against Dalits, happened in the last decade.
But none of the cases saw a conviction in court due to the inefficiency of the police officers here.
The same is repeated in Priya’s case too.
"As part of my organisation, we urge the police to arrest the two prime accused soon, as per the SC/ST PoA Act mandate,” Lalitha said.
Lalitha also claimed that the delay in arrest and reasons like “unable to trace them” were excuses that gave rise to suspicion on the cops for colluding with the culprits, as the officers allegedly tried to favour majority-dominant-caste people in the village.
