Huts put up by two Irula community families at Thenneri village in Wallajahbad police station limit were razed by a gang on Sunday.
When some members of the community resisted the gang, they were also attacked. Thirteen persons were injured and they have been admitted to the district government headquarters hospital here.
M. Karthik, one of the injured persons, submitted a memorandum to the Collector here on Monday. According to him, the trouble broke out when the families residing on ‘naththam poromboke’ land sought house site pattas. The Revenue Divisional Officer distributed caste certificates to them last week.
On coming to know about this, a person from dominant community, who was owning one acre near the ‘naththam poromboke’ land, asked the two families to vacate.
On Saturday, he lodged a complaint with Wallajahbad police stating that the two families had encroached upon his land. However, after the intervention of Makkal Mandram, a non-governmental organisation, it was established that it was the complainant who had only encroached the said land, and he did not have any valid document to establish his claim. Karthik said the police were also informed of the assurance given by the RDO that house-site pattas would be issued only to the Irula families. The police had asked both the parties to approach a court as it was a civil matter.
However, on Sunday morning, a group of persons, including some from Thenneri Dalit colony, razed down the huts of the two Irula families, he said.
