A 45-year-old Dalit man was force-fed faeces and urine by a gang comprising members of the intermediate castes, in Thiruvanduthurai village near Mannargudi in Thiruvarur district.
Kathir, executive director of Evidence
Chennai:
After allegedly abusing him using the caste name, Sakthivel called up his kin, Rajesh (28) and Rajkumar (29), who later came on a bike and started abusing Kollimalai and also violently beating him with logs. They even force-fed faeces to the man.
“They took faeces on a stick and force-fed it to me. After tying my hands, all three urinated on me and left me lying on the road covered with faeces and urine. I was rescued by my relatives who took me to the hospital,” said Kollimalai.
He was hospitalised for a week and then discharged. Kottur police have registered a case under Scheduled Castes/Tribes Atrocities Act against the trio. Sakthivel has been arrested.
Though the incident occurred on April 28, the matter came to light only recently. The victim, Kollimalai, was returning home from a brick kiln that he owns. While on his way back, he was intercepted by Sakthivel (42), who also hit Kollimalai with a log.
After allegedly abusing him using the caste name, Sakthivel called up his kin, Rajesh (28) and Rajkumar (29), who later came on a bike and started abusing Kollimalai and also violently beating him with logs. They even force-fed faeces to the man.
“They took faeces on a stick and force-fed it to me. After tying my hands, all three urinated on me and left me lying on the road covered with faeces and urine. I was rescued by my relatives who took me to the hospital,” said Kollimalai.
He was hospitalised for a week and then discharged. Kottur police have registered a case under Scheduled Castes/Tribes Atrocities Act against the trio. Sakthivel has been arrested.
Parties condemn abuse of Dalit man
Dalit parties and organisations on Tuesday condemned the incident where a Dalit man was force-fed faeces and urine in Thiruvanduthurai.
Kathir, executive director of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO, said, “It has been 72 years since independence. But Dalits are yet to recover from the atrocities. The Thiruvanduthurai case is one of the worst forms and it shows how badly society is infected.”
Kollimalai, a 45-year-old Dalit from Thiruvanduthurai village in Tiruvarur district, was force-fed faeces and urine by a gang of men from intermediate caste. Kollimalai was admitted to a hospital and discharged after treatment on Sunday.
Kathir, along with his team, did a field study in the village and brought out the incident. He said, “Such incidents cannot be accepted in a civilised society. Dalits are treated even worse than animals.”
According to him, the officials are not sensitive to the atrocities against Dalits. Only seven per cent of the accused in the cases filed under Scheduled Castes/ Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act is convicted so far.
“Every year, more than 3 lakh cases are filed in the State but only about 1,200 cases are registered under the Act,” Kathir added.
Dalit parties demanded action against political parties spreading hatred among the people. D Ravikumar, general secretary of VCK said, “The hatred is spread by a few political parties which are seeking mileage out of such incidents”.
He also blamed the ruling government for such incidents. “When J Jayalalithaa was in power, she took stern action against the parties spreading hatred among the public. But the present government under Palaniswami is a mute spectator to such incidents,” Ravikumar said.
Aathi Tamilar Peravai leader Dalit Raja said, “The government should ban political parties involved in the hate campaign against Dalits and minorities as they are indirectly fanfaring such incidents.”