DINDIGUL: Six persons from a caste Hindu community were arrested for hurling a casteist slur and thrashing a Dalit family in Palani on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, V Arumugam (42) and his wife A Lakshmi (37) of VP Pudur near Naikarapatti in Palani were targeted twice, said police.
Initially, S Karthi (26), a caste Hindu, attacked Arumugam with a stone after a quarrel escalated into violence.
Arumugam, who is a farm labourer, was chatting with his fellow workers outside the field when the incident happened.
Co-workers intervened to pacify Karthi and immediately took Arumugam to the Primary Health Centre (PHC). After receiving first aid, he was discharged.
However, the conflict didn’t end. On the same night, a group of individuals from the caste hindu community, led by Karthi, stormed Arumugam’s house and assaulted him, his wife Lakshmi, and three relatives who tried to intervene.
The group also vandalised the house before fleeing, police said. Arumugam’s daughter Jayanthi, relatives Ramathai and another man called Arumugam who were injured in the attack were admitted to the Palani Government Hospital that night. A case was registered under the SC/ST Act. Police said 11 were booked under the Act, with six of them already arrested and remanded to custody.
