MADURAI: The Madurai rural district police have booked six persons under Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act for allegedly hurling casteist slurs against a 17-year-old dalit boy, beating him up, and making him fall at their feet over previous enmity. The victim also alleged that he was urinated on, in the presence of a six-year-old boy.
The incident happened on Jan 16 and following the complaint filed by the victim, who is from Sangampatti village, the Usilampatti Town police on Saturday booked the six accused under sections 296 (b), 351 (2) BNS r/w 3 (1) (r) 3 (1) (s) of SC/ST PoA Act, including for criminal intimidation and obscenity, and intentionally insulting/humiliating a person from SC or ST communities.
Meanwhile, Neelam Cultural Centre, an NGO working for protection of dalit rights, strongly condemned the incident, sharing it on social platform X, and alleged delay by police in registering a case and that the accused were yet to be arrested as on Sunday. Only on Saturday, the 17-year-old boy, along with VCK members and an advocate, had approached the office of Usilampatti Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). The boy also described the events that happened in a video.
“Last month, there was a festival in our village, during which I was harassed and threatened by a group of people because of my caste and they made comments about my family too. I was scared and was staying in Kerala. Recently, I came back home for Pongal,” he observed. He further said that despite laying low, the accused forcibly took him to a secluded spot in the village.
“They then beat me up as they hurled casteist slurs and forced me to fall at their feet asking me to beg for forgiveness though I did no wrong. I was also urinated on in the presence of a six-year-old boy. They threatened to kill me. I was badly injured following their attack on me and had to be hospitalised,” added the victim.
Madurai district Superintendent of Police (SP) BK Arvind, in a statement on Sunday, said that investigation was underway in the case and police had taken prompt action. However, police denied claims of the boy being urinated on and noted that false news was being spread.
