Scheduled Caste man assaulted, his hut vandalised in Mayiladuthurai

A Scheduled Caste man was assaulted and his thatched hut was vandalised in an act of alleged caste-based violence at Mela Manganallur in Mayiladuthurai district. The attack stemmed from the resentment among members of the Most Backward Community (MBC) against the only Scheduled Caste house in the locality.

The police have arrested four persons for the assault and registered a case under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Police sources said M. Dhakshnamurthy, 50, of Kappur village, purchased a house on poramboke land at Mela Manganallur in 2022 from a former MBC resident. The village has around 20 houses, all occupied by MBC members. Since he moved in, Dhakshnamurthy and family had faced threats.

On Sunday morning, Dhakshnamurthy’s son, Sathriyan, 28, was near the house when a group allegedly entered the premises, dismantled the thatched structure, and attacked him with an iron rod. He was injured and admitted to a nearby hospital.

The incident triggered blockade of the Mayiladuthurai-Kuthalam Road. CPI(M) district secretary P. Srinivasan and Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front district secretary C. Meganathan led the protest, demanding the immediate arrest of the assailants.

Superintendent of Police G. Stalin visited the area and ordered an inquiry. The police later arrested A. Arivu, 50; M. Sivakumar, 49; R. Natarajan, 55 (all from Mela Manganallur); and K. Keerthivasan, 52, of Arivoli Mangalam. They were booked under six provisions of the BNS for assault and criminal intimidation and three Sections of the the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for house trespass, casteist abuse, and destruction of property. They were remanded in judicial custody, the police said.