Dalit siblings attacked by dominant caste students in TN; kin dies during protest

Tirunelveli: A Dalit boy and his younger sister were attacked with sickles by six juveniles from the dominant caste in Nanguneri in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district.

A group of six students who belong to the Maravar community, a sub-caste of Thevar (Backward Class, BC), attacked Chinnadurai, 17, at 10:30 pm on August 9 at his house. His younger sister tried to intervene and was hacked by the students.

As neighbours gathered, the students fled the place. Both Chinnadurai and his sister are undergoing treatment at the Nanguneri government hospital.

According to the police, all of them are students at a government-aided school.

Chinnadurai was reportedly, subjected to casteist harassment constantly at school by the other students belonging to the intermediate dominant caste. He was asked to buy cigarettes and snacks by the other students and was also bullied by them.

Fearing harassment, he had stopped going to school a week before he was attacked, the police said. He had also complained of harassment to his parents.

Chinnadurai’s mother Ambika informed his teacher what happened. The school principal summoned all the students who were harassing Chinnadurai and gave them a strict warning. He added that action will be taken against them if they continued this behaviour.

Angered by this, the boys confronted Chinnadurai on his way home and threatened him. On the same night, the students entered Chinnadurai’s house with sickles and attacked him. The police, however, nabbed them on Friday.

According to reports, people from Chinnadurai’s village protested along with his family and during this protest, his grandfather collapsed and died on the spot.

All the six accused have been booked under sections 294(b) (sings, recites or utters any obscene song in public), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 352 (assault), 452 (house-trespass), 506(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 3(1)(r) , 3(1)(s), and 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) (SC/ST(PoA)) Act. Section 3 of the act pertains to punishments for offences and atrocities committed against members from the SC/ST communities.

The names of the accused have been withheld as The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 mandates that details of children in conflict with the law should not be disclosed.

Tamil Nadu Finance and Human Resource Management Minister Thangam Thennarasu met the Dalit siblings today (August 12).

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