Dalit woman alleges police inaction

October 19, 2013 09:58 am | Updated June 01, 2016 11:59 pm IST - Madurai:

A 56-year-old Dalit woman, allegedly intimidated and abused by caste Hindus over a land dispute in Kodangipatti village under Palamedu police station limits, has complained of police inaction.

According to the complainant, Rajammal, she was alone at home on September 22 when Swaminathan, his son Venkatesan, and another person barged into her house and attempted to kill her for refusing to part with her property. With the help of her brother, Lohidasan, she lodged a complaint with the Palamedu police on October 4. The police registered an FIR against the trio under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

However, no arrests have been made so far. “Since the accused belong to the upper caste, the police officials have turned a blind eye to my family’s suffering,” Lohidasan contends.

It is alleged that Swaminathan sold 48 cents of land to Rajammal in 1998. But the following year, her family left the village, along with other Dalit families, in the wake of caste clashes. However, the property remained in her possession, though no sale deed was registered in her name for over a decade.

“Taking advantage of the situation, the accused had transferred the patta of the land to his name without the knowledge of Rajammal and threatened her family to vacate the land,” said Sivalingam, Rajammal’s lawyer.

When contacted, Superintendent of Police V. Balakrishnan said the complaint appeared to be “exaggerated.”

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