MADURAI
The brutal murder of three people from a Scheduled Caste (SC) community by a group of caste Hindus in Kachanatham in Sivaganga district on May 28, 2018 indicated intolerance towards socio-economic development of the oppressed, a fact-finding report on the incident by Civil Rights Protection Centre said.
The report, released here on Friday, said that this intolerance among a section of caste Hindus frequently led to different forms of harassment and atrocities against the oppressed, culminating in the murder of the three.
R. Murali, State general secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, who led the fact-finding team, said that almost all the SC Devendrakula Vellalar families in the village owned land while many of them were graduates and employed in the government sector.
“For instance, one of the murdered persons was A. Shanmuganathan, a postgraduate in business management, was assisting the villagers in farming,” he said.
He added that the deeply-entrenched animosity towards SCs among a section of caste Hindus was evident from the fact that even a few women actively assisted the gang that carried out the attack.
Stating that negligence and caste bias among the police also played a role in the murders, the report demanded that the two Sub Inspectors suspended in this regard be dismissed. “Importantly, they should also be added as accused in the case as per provisions of the Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” he said.
Alleging that the three grievously injured men undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Madurai were being persuaded to get discharged from the hospital, the report urged the government to ensure that the three get proper treatment.
Citing C. Davamani, the wife of V. Chandrasekar, who succumbed to the injuries at Government Rajaji Hospital, Mr. Murali said that an enquiry must be done to probe the alleged negligence in the treatment at the hospital.
The fact-finding report also stressed dialogues between the two communities in the long run to reduce animosity. “Presently, the Devendrakula Vellalar community there is still living under fear that there might be another attempt on their lives,” said Mr. Murali.
The other demands made by the fact-finding committee included the constitution of a special court and a special prosecutor for speedy trial, direct monitoring of the investigation and trial by Madurai High Court Bench, and ensuring job opportunities for all the affected families.
