Tamil Nadu: Dalits Forced to Fall at Panchayat Members' Feet, Case Booked Under SC/ST Act

Tamil Nadu: Three Dalit men were forced to fall at the Panchayat elders' feet and apologize for flouting Covid Rules. A case was filed under the SC/ST Act against the panchayat elders.

Following a dispute, three elderly Dalit men in Ottanandhal Panchayat near Thiruvennainallur in Villupuram district were forced to fall at the feet of the Hindu Panchayat members.

In yet another incident of caste atrocity, three elderly Dalit men were forced to prostrate before the members of a village panchayat and apologize following a quarrel between two groups over organizing a music function at a village.

Despite the fact that the incident occurred on Wednesday, it only came to light after a video of it went viral on social media sites.

Members of the Dalit colony in Ottanandhal Panchayat near Thiruvennainallur, according to police, recently organized a musical function. The Hindus at the village had filed a complaint with the local police about organizing the event during the pandemic.

A team from the Thiruvennainallur police station alerted the organizers and confiscated the devices, including microphones and speakers, according to a police officer. The equipment was later returned to the police. Following that, a group from the colony is said to have interrogated a village youth for filing a police complaint about the incident. This resulted in a battle between the two parties.

The issue was initially resolved, but it was later escalated after the panchayat wanted to settle it on its own, according to a police investigation. Three Dalit elders from the colony were forced to prostrate in front of the panchayat and apologize for the chain of events.

S. Radhakrishnan, Superintendent of Police, said a team had been sent to the village to find and apprehend the men responsible for the atrocity. According to him, they have been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Two people have been arrested and six others have been charged with pressuring three elderly Dalit men to apologize and fall at their feet.

Two caste Hindus were arrested in Villupuram district, and six others were charged with making three elderly Dalit men collapse at their feet and apologize over a quarrel.

Gokul Raj and Seetharaman, both of Ottanandhal Panchayat, have been arrested.

The eight people have been charged under sections 147, 294 (b), and 506 (1) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as well as other provisions.

On the basis of a counter-complaint filed by R. Ramesh, the police have filed a case against 54 members of the colony.