Five persons belonging to Anathur village have been arrested for the brutal attack on Anathur Dalit colony near Thiruvennainallur in the district after an inter-caste marriage came to light.
The police gave the names of the arrested as Purushothaman, 31, Madhusudhanan, 31, Velu, 30, Devanathan, 45, and Ilayaraja, 31, of Anathur village.
A group of caste Hindus raided Anathur Colony on Wednesday despite the presence of a few police personnel and ransacked about 20 houses in the colony after they came to know that the couple E. Thirumoorthy, a Dalit and M. Jayapratha belonging to another community had registered their marriage in Cuddalore.
The attack left around 10 persons injured and vehicles parked in the colony damaged.
Cases have been registered against the accused under Sections 147, 148, 294 (b), 448, 324, 506 Part II and 307 of IPC and SC/ST Act. A search has been launched for 16 others who are absconding after the incident.
Meanwhile, the Tindivanam-based Social Awareness Society for Youths (SASY), a non-governmental organisation, has demanded the district administration to impose collective fine on the perpetrators who attacked the colony.