Relatives receive bodies

After prolonged persuasion by police and revenue officials, relatives of the two dalits murdered at Paaraiyadi in Tirunelveli Town on last Monday night, received their bodies on Saturday.

While Mariappan and Shanmugam were murdered by an armed gang near Paaraiyadi, Rajkumar escaped with cut injuries.

When police found that it was a handiwork of caste Hindus due to prior enmity between Rajkumar and a 15-year-old ITI student, relatives of the murdered dalits refused to accept their bodies and hence they were kept in the mortuary of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.

Compensation sought

Even as the local dalit leaders made it clear that they could accept the bodies only after a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh each and government employment to kin of each of the deceased were given, the police and revenue officials continued their persuasion.

After they were promised that their demands would be forwarded to the government, they accepted the bodies on Saturday and buried them.