SANGAREDDY : Officials visited Gautojiguda village in Manoharabad mandal, Medak district, on Monday after the Telangana High Court ordered the district collector and superintendent of police (SP) to take legal action against the accused and provide protection to a Dalit family facing social boycott.
The aggrieved, Chandram Panchami, a member of the Madiga (Scheduled Castes) community, had lodged a police complaint and filed a case in the high court after villagers boycotted him and his family members for opposing the traditional rule that required someone from their family to beat the drum (dappu) whenever there was a death in the village.
The issue arose when village elders imposed a rule that whenever someone died in the village, a member of Chandram’s family should beat the dappu, a traditional duty assigned to them based on caste. However, Chandram and his younger brother, both highly educated and working in Hyderabad, opposed this rule. Chandram rued that despite their education and professional success, they were still expected to return to the village to perform this duty whenever a death occurred. He suggested that anyone interested in the tradition should take on the responsibility themselves.
He further revealed that at a panchayat meeting in the village on September 10, the members passed a decree forbidding anyone from speaking to his family, offering them work or interacting with them. Violators of this decree would be fined `5,000 and subjected to 25 shoe slaps as punishment.
No place for caste discrimination: Collector
After hearing the case, Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court expressed deep dissatisfaction with the local authorities and directed them to ensure full justice for the family.
Acting on these orders, collector Rahul Raj and SP D Uday Kumar Reddy visited the village and held a meeting with the villagers. Both of them warned of strict legal action if caste-based discrimination continued and made it clear that no one should be forced into caste-based occupations.
Collector Rahul Raj said caste distinctions, as portrayed in movies, have no place in the village, and that it is illegal to differentiate between so-called “low” and “high” castes.
The SP also said that lower-level police officers have been instructed to file cases and arrest anyone involved in caste discrimination. They both urged the villagers to live harmoniously and warned that anyone engaging in caste discrimination or social boycotts would face severe legal consequences.
16 held, 15 absconding: DSP
A case was registered at the Manoharabad police station on September 12.
Toopran Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) S Venkat Reddy said that 16 people have been arrested and remanded in connection with the social boycott, while 15 others remain at large. He added that searches are ongoing and that those absconding would be arrested soon.