A day after three houses and two cattle sheds in a Dalit colony were torched by caste Hindus following a group clash in K. Thottiyapatti on Thursday night, deployment of police has brought the situation under control on Friday.
Though there were no fresh clashes, Dalits were visibly shaken what with more than half of the small dwelling units in the some 40-house colony were damaged by a mob of over 40 persons, including women and youth, with logs and stones.
Eighteen persons have been admitted to Srivilliputtur and Rajapalayam government hospitals.
“The situation is under control. We have arrested 24 persons, including women, for the mob attack,” said Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police M. Rajarajan.
The SP said that shortage of water for daily use in the village under Konthakulam village panchayat had led to the two groups clashing. He said that the police arrived at the spot immediately on getting information. “But the information came to us only after the attack was over,” he said.
However, some of the villagers were heard complaining to members of Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) that the perpetrators of crime “had knowledge that the police would not rush to the spot immediately.”
K. Alliraja, husband of former woman president of the reserved panchayat, said that two water schemes were available in the village to cater to the two communities. However, since there was surplus water in the scheme of Dalits, it was diverted to the other area to cater to a bigger population.
The borewell of a mini-power pump scheme provided for Dalits too failed recently. “We were not allowed to fetch water from the bathing facility provided behind the community hall. The water to the bathing tub is being pumped from the overhead tank located in our area,” complained P. Muniyandi. Even the fetching of water at the cremation yard’s mini-power pump project resulted in dispute between the two groups.
Officials at a peace meeting held recently gave different timings to the two groups to fetch water at the cremation yard. “The Dalits were given time from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and caste Hindus, who are in majority, after that. But, on Thursday, the Dalits who had gone to attend some function turned up late,” the SP said.
When a caste Hindu youth questioned a Dalit youth for bathing there, there was a fight and the caste Hindu youth sustained bleeding injury. This led to the caste Hindus, mostly women, marching some 200 metres towards the Dalit colony and attacking the residents.
“These people had brought logs and stones. They had used petrol to set the huts on fire,” complained Samuelraj of TNUEF.
