A 17-year-old boy and his friend belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community were kidnapped and thrashed, allegedly for not paying respects to dominant community members in Kallimandayam of Dindigul a few days ago.
The victim, a Class XII student said, “Selvaganapathi (19) and Harish (20), former students of my school who hail from a dominant caste often verbally abuse me about my caste. On July 22, a group of students were playing kabaddi at the school grounds when a group led by the two joined. An argument quickly escalated into a clash, and a group of elders intervened and resolved it. We were just standing and witnessing the incident.”
On July 23, while waiting for bus, the boy was called by Selvaganapathi and Harish. As he didn’t go, they used a casteist slur, hit him with a wire lock and also kicked his friend, said the boy.
“They took us to an isolated location near Perumal Hills and 10 others thrashed us with sticks. They also dug their fingernails into my skin. A group of villagers later rescued us. I suffered injuries to my head, neck and face, and was admitted to the Oddanchatram GH for a week,” the victim said.
Tamil Puligal Katchi (Dindigul) Legal Wing secretary Chinna Karuppan said, “We are saddened by these attacks on SCs. The victim was not involved in any dispute but the attackers assaulted him anyways. They wanted these poor boys to stand and offer greetings to them, failing which they resort to attacks.”
A case has been registered under Sections 296 (B), 115 (2), 118 (1) and 351 (2) of the BNS and SC/ST (PoA) Act.
A special team has been formed to track the accused whop are absconding, said the police.
