An activist who made a short film on the murder of four Dalits at Kurinjakkulam village in Tirunelveli district in 1992 was arrested on charges of promoting enmity between two groups.
A special team of the Tirunelveli police arrested S. Anwar Balasingam, his associates Siva and Balakrishnan on Saturday night for making the 21-minute short film titled ‘Kurinjakkulam’ and released under the banner of ‘Tamilar Thirakalam’.
Soon after the film was released on ‘Facebook’ and ‘YouTube’, police received reports of tension brewing between two communities.
According to police sources, four Dalits were murdered by Caste Hindus over a dispute relating to the construction of Gandhari Amman Temple at Kurinjakkulam village in Tirunelveli district in 1992. But the accused in the murder case were acquitted.
Almost 24 years later, Anwar made the movie that portrays caste discrimination and how the four Dalits were done to death brutally.
“Describing one group of people as invaders who encroached and grabbed the property of Dalits to become landlords, the director reiterates the demand for constructing the Gandhari Amman temple at the same place. He created a page on Facebook to post the short film. It has also been uploaded on YouTube,” a senior police officer said.
Ill-feelings
Quoting intelligence reports, the officer said the short film had evoked ill-feelings between two communities in the district. “It was intended to incite hatred among the people who are living in harmony now.”
The charge is that it promotes enmity between communities
