Police name dalit man who died two years ago in FIR over caste clash in Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: Police in a Vriddachalam village have named a dalit man who died two years ago in connection with a clash between two communities during Pongal this year.It all started on January 15 during celebrations organized in Sathukudal colony by by dalit youth who had returned home for Pongal. K Paramasivan, a vanniyar from nearby Aalichikudi village, got into an argument with the youth.
Things turned ugly that evening when two of these youths, Arikrishnan, 20, and a 17-year-old, went to Aalichikudi to buy prizes for the event winners. There they were attacked by Paramasivan and six others.”They hit me with beer bottles and made me repeat phrases that denigrate my caste,” said Arikrishnan, an engineer working on the Chennai-Bengaluru expressway project in Maduravoyal. He suffered head injuries and is admitted to the Vriddachalam government hospital.
The Karuveppilankurichi police on January 18 booked Paramasivan and six other vanniyars under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections of the IPC.
Three days later, R Manimegalai, 45, from Aalichikudi complained that it was Arikrishnan and his friends who started creating trouble by harassing women in their village. She said when they protested more men from Sathukudal colony arrived on bikes and attacked them So, police booked Arikrishnan and seven others.
And the FIR filed by the Karuveppilankurichi police in this connection named Arikrishnan’s father, 66-year-old Kothandam, as one of the accused.
However, Kothandam had died two years ago of an illness. “This FIR clearly shows the seriousness of the police investigation. They have not even bothered to find out if someone is alive or dead,” said Arikrishnan. Kothandam used to be active in the fight against caste-based discrimination.
Karuveppilankurichi police inspector Murugesan said, “The deputy superintendent of police will conduct an inquiry into this and will remove the name if the accused is dead.” By law, police cannot alter FIRs without court permission.
Ramesh Nathan, a dalit rights’ activist from Social Awareness Society for Youths, said, across Tamil Nadu, it has become common practice for police to register fabricated counter-cases soon after filing a case under the SC/ST (POA) Act.
