Dalit man’s relatives reject cops’ claim of previous enmity, refuse to receive body

Madurai: Two days after a dalit man was murdered by two non-dalits in Achampathu village, his family and villagers refused to collect the body and perform final rites demanding a CB-CID probe into the murder. They alleged that Nagamalai Pudukottai police are giving a false narrative of previous enmity to close the case which would backfire into serious caste violence.

They sat on a protest at their community hall seeking CB-CID probe and action against the police for not investigating the case properly.

Two non-dalit men, S Gopi and R Muthu, murdered P Pandeeswaran alias Selvam from Achampathu on Wednesday night. Police said that 12 days ago, Gopi asked for money from Pandeeswaran for booze but the latter refused, which resulted in a scuffle. Over this previous enmity, they hit him with a stone and pushed him into a drainage ditch after abusing him verbally with caste slurs. Gopi and Muthu have been arrested on murder charges as well as under Prevention of Atrocities (Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes) Act.

“Pandeeswaran was not someone strong enough to pick up this kind of enmity. The accused are youngsters while the victim was 37 years old. Gopi and Muthu had come to this area with some other malicious intention,” says his relative T Nagarajan.

Achampathu on the outskirts of Madurai city is an agrarian village known for its traditional medicine practitioners. While the land-holding pillaimar community lives in the western part of the village, devendrakula vellalars (dalits), primarily agricultural labourers, live in the eastern part.

The dalits have been working on the lands of pillaimar but the caste dynamics changed over time with the dalits managing to achieve upward mobility and moving to government and private sector jobs.

Even though this upward mobility caused some friction many decades ago, these communities co-exist without any big rift.

“Such tranquility will be shattered if the police don’t do their job properly.

This murder should not spark revenge crime in this locality,” says a villager. The villagers spotted the two accused carrying weapons that night but resorted to a more violent method to kill a person who was sitting on a wall.

“We want to know the killers’ true intention and how many more were involved. We won’t collect the body till then,” added Nagarajan.

Two held for murdering dalit man in MaduraiTwo non-dalit individuals were arrested in Madurai district for the murder of Pandeeswaran, a 37-year-old dalit man. He was hit on the head with a stone due to previous enmity and verbal abuse based on his caste name. The incident occurred when Pandeeswaran was sitting and talking with villagers. The accused fled the scene, but were apprehended after a complaint was filed. The attack was a result of an ongoing dispute between Pandeeswaran and one of the accused over money for liquor.105646222

Two arrested for murdering dalit man in Tamil NaduTwo non-dalit men, Gopi and Muthu, were arrested for the murder of a 37-year-old dalit man in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The victim, P Pandeeswaran, was hit on the head with a stone by the accused due to previous enmity and verbal abuse related to his caste. The incident occurred while Pandeeswaran was sitting with villagers, and a scuffle broke out when the accused confronted him. They pushed him into a nearby canal, resulting in his death. The accused were arrested after a complaint was filed, and the police suspect that the enmity stemmed from a previous financial dispute.105632423

Two arrested for attack on five dalits near MaduraiTwo thevar community men were arrested for attacking five scheduled caste (SC) people, including a seven-year-old boy, near Perungudi in Madurai district. The attackers verbally abused the SC youths, denoting their caste name, before attacking them with knives. Injuries were sustained on the hands, shoulders, fingers, and ankles of the victims. The incident has been condemned by various dalit rights activists and political parties, with demands for strict action against the perpetrators and prevention of future incidents.105589923

Courtesy : TOI

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