A video of the boy explaining the chain of events was shared on social media. (Express photo)A Class VI student suffered burn injuries after three boys pushed him into a garbage fire near a cemetery at Kattusiviri village near Tindivanam in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu.
According to the police, the 11-year-old boy, who studies at the government higher secondary school in Kattusiviri, hails from the Irular community and the three other boys, aged between 12 and 13, are Hindus, belonging to the MBC community. The boys who pushed the victim also reside in the same town.
According to the FIR copy, the incident happened on Monday evening around 4 pm when the boy was on his way to his grandmother’s house. The minor in the FIR said his grandmother’s house is located behind the Mariyamman temple and three boys who were playing near the Karumathi Kottai (cemetery), called him using a casteist slur.
When the boy went near them, they allegedly pushed him into the fire. The boy stood up and washed the burns in a nearby tap. But since he wasn’t able to tolerate the burns, he rushed back home and informed his mother who in turn took him to the local hospital and later admitted him to the Tindivanam government hospital.
Best of Express Premium
A video of the boy explaining the chain of events was shared on social media. The Vellimedupettai police have registered a case against three teens under Sections 3[1] [r] and 3 [1] [s] of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act and 324 of the Indian Penal Code. The police officials said they are carrying out further inquiries.
Meanwhile, members of the Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi (VCK) visited the boy at the hospital Tuesday. Speaking to indianexpress.com, Cheran, VCK district secretary, Villupuram, said the boy informed them that he had faced this humiliation by the upper caste students in the past as well.
“In the Kattusiviri village, there are more than 600 families that belong to the MBC community and 40 SC/ST communities, so clearly they are the majority. These teens often used to harass the boy with casteist slurs against this boy. We are in touch with the officials, till now they have not taken any action,” he said.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
