Dalit boy and grandmother attacked by upper-caste people in Tamil Nadu; 2 college students held

According to police, the Class 10 boy had an “altercation” with a Class 12 boy belonging to an upper caste while going to school on a bus last week. The next day, the elder boy along with a few others reached the Dalit boy’s home at Uppidamangalam and allegedly attacked him and his grandmother Kaaliyammal.

The Dalit boy and his grandmother, who has been taking care of him since he lost both of his parents, were shifted to the Karur Government Hospital.

Addressing reporters on Monday, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader said that over 20 people had attacked the victim and that the police had made the arrests only after their insistence.

“Only a few of them have been arrested. We want everyone who was involved in the incident to be arrested. In Karur, a lot of caste violence is unleashed on Dalits. The district administration and the police should take necessary steps to address the problem. Due compensation should be provided to the victim,” a VCK leader said.

The Dalit boy, who also spoke to the media, said the upper-caste people attacked him because they thought he had laughed at some of them.

“When I was going on the bus with my friend, I laughed at a joke my friend made. They (addressing him by his caste) asked why I was laughing at them. I did not say anything to them. I got down at my bus stop. They threatened to beat me if I travelled on the same bus again. The next day, I was on the same bus and they beat me. I informed my uncle and we decided to file a complaint at the Velliyanai police station. Learning about this, they came with their friends and attacked me and my grandmother. There were about 20 people,” he said.

The Velliyanai police registered a case on August 26 on the basis of the boy’s complaint. They arrested two college students aged 19 and detained two juveniles aged 17 and 13 in connection with the incident. They were booked under sections including IPC sections 294 B (obscene acts) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) as well as under the Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The two juveniles were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and released on bail. The college students have been lodged in the Karur sub-jail.

The incident came two weeks after a 17-year-old Dalit boy and his 14-year-old sister were assaulted by a gang of upper-caste students with sickles near Nanguneri in Tirunelveli, triggering widespread outrage in the state.