The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Women perform last rites of Dalit girl

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Friday, Oct 10, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Women perform last rites of Dalit girl

L. Srikrishna

Since the men had fled the village

MADURAI: A group of women – young and aged – performed the last rites of a 22-year-old woman at Uthapuram village near here on Wednesday.

The village has been in the news for quiet a few months following simmering differences between two groups over the presence of a wall that separates the houses of Dalits from that of caste Hindus.

About a week ago, when a group painted the wall of the local Muthalamman temple in view of the ‘kumbabishekam’ scheduled on October 9 and 10, there were violent incidents. A mob hurled country explosives and armed police opened teargas shells to disperse it.

Two days ago, the Revenue Divisional Officer issued orders prohibiting the villagers from performing the ‘kumbabishekam.’ Fearing arrest, men had fled the village to undisclosed destinations, police said.

A Dalit woman, who was ailing from tuberculosis, died on Tuesday night. According to villagers, since the men had fled, a group of women performed the last rites.

A senior police officer said special teams were on the look out for suspects behind last week’s violence. Large posse of policemen had been deployed in the village.

A revenue official said that they were in the process of holding talks with both the groups and hoped to resolve the temple issue amicably.

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