Madurai district police on Thursday arrested V. Kannan (38), father of a Dalit school boy, for a clash between the Dalit boy’s family and the family of a caste Hindu boy, both studying in Class XI in National Cooperative Sugar Mills Higher Secondary School at Mettupatti near Alanganallur.
While separate cases have been filed against both the families based on their complaints against each other, police are yet to arrest anyone from the caste Hindu side.
Police sources said that the caste Hindu boy, an accused in one of two cases, was recuperating at the Government Hospital in Vadipatti as he had allegedly sustained injuries.
The issue broke out on Wednesday evening when both the families, hailing from villages near Nilakottai in Dindigul district, had come to attend parent-teacher meeting at the school.
While the Dalit boy had claimed that he was attacked by the caste Hindu boy and his family for sitting cross-legged in front of them, police sources said that there was a petty quarrel between the boys started by the Dalit boy.
Police sources said that in the scuffle that ensued, the Dalit boy and his parents were attacked by the caste Hindu boy’s family.
In revenge, on Thursday morning, when the caste Hindu boy was coming to school by bus, he was allegedly attacked by the Dalit boy, his father Mr. Kannan and two others.
Both the boys were added as accused in the cases. Vadipatti police, who registered the cases, have invoked provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the case filed against caste Hindu boy and two others from his family.
