Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary, D. Ravikumar, has charged that the prosecution appears to have deliberately bungled in the Madras High Court in presenting the case against the main accused in the 2016 murder of Dalit youth Shankar in Udumalpet, who had married Kowsalya belonging to a Thevar sect. The court had acquitted Kowsalya’s father B Chinnasamy and commuted to life the death sentence awarded to five assailants.
Refusing to criticise the judiciary, Mr. Ravikumar blamed the prosecution for failing to prove its case. “It looks like a deliberate attempt by the prosecution,” he told The Hindu . “This is a case with eye witnesses, CCTV footage and a clear sequence of events, where [everything] including the threats by parents, have been corroborated by Kowsalya. It is not difficult to prove this case. A judge can decide only based on what is presented as evidence in the case.”
Apprehending that Tamil Nadu was going the Haryana way in caste-related crimes, he said there has been a rise in crimes against Dalits, especially in cases involving inter-caste marriages/affairs. “The State Government is very reluctant in enforcing the laws such as SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which is why the crimes keeps increasing,” he felt.
Curiously such cases of caste-related crimes have of late have not entirely made it to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports. However, human rights groups such as Evidence in Tamil Nadu have claimed that in the last five years, the State has seen around 195 cases of caste killings. The VCK is among the parties seeking a separate law to deal with such crimes.
Mr Ravikumar is equally anguished that the mainstream Dravidian and national parties have been rather quiet about the verdict.
“When Shankar was murdered, it was a sensational case and everyone condemned it. Now, when the main accused is being released and sentences of others are commuted, political parties have a duty to state their opinion. They don’t have to state whether the judgement is right or wrong – the State government has said that they will appeal against the verdict. But, at least, the parties could have urged the government to appeal against the verdict to ensure that those who committed the crime are punished,” said the VCK leader.
Citing how almost all political parties immediately condemned the custodial deaths of a father and son in Sathankulam, he said, “It is a good thing – but they should be consistent. Human rights are the same for all.” He said political parties should also have a ‘Human Rights wing’ just like they have a lawyers wing, women’s wing and so on.
“In a case filed by Shakthi Vahini against ‘honour’ crimes in 2018, the Supreme Court explained why special laws are needed by stating that laws to curb violence against women and children have reduced the crimes against them. They have pointed out that special laws for the practice of sati and dowry have gone a long way in curbing these crimes and compensating the victims,” said the Villupuram MP, who had urged in Parliament that such crimes be considered “acts of terrorism.”
