MADURAI: State director of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Monday conducted an inquiry with a youth from Sivaganga district who was injured in a recent caste-based attack and is undergoing treatment at the Govt Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai.
NCSC Tamil Nadu state director S Ravivarman, along with senior investigative officer S Lister, met R Ayyasamy, 20, of Melapidavoor village in Sivaganga, on Monday and conducted an inquiry with him and his family members. They also provided compensation on behalf of district authorities of 62,500. Earlier, the team also visited Melapidavoor village in Sivaganga, where the caste-based attack occurred, to make inquiries.
Ayyasamy, hailing from the dalit community, was attacked by three men while he was returning to his house on his two-wheeler (bullet), after getting into an argument. The three accused, Vinthokumar, 21, Aatheeswaran, 25, and Vallarasu, 23, who are from the agamudayar (thevar) community, were later arrested by the police with a case booked against them, including under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Family members accused the trio of hurling casteist slurs and stopping Ayyasamy from riding the particular two-wheeler (bullet) as he was from the dalit community. However, Sivaganga district police denied the claims while assuring a fair investigation.
Attack happened on February 12 in Sivaganga district
A Dalit youth has claimed that he was attacked with sickles by members of the Thevar community in Sivaganga district after they reportedly took issue with him riding a Bullet motorcycle. However, police have denied these allegations, stating that the attack followed a verbal altercation. Three youths have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Melapidavoor village when 20-year-old R. Ayyasamy, a final-year undergraduate student, was returning home on his motorcycle. Police say Ayyasamy encountered three individuals who were all intoxicated. All three men belong to the Agamudayar (Thevar) community.
Police further stated that Ayyasamy was also under the influence of alcohol and stopped his motorcycle to speak with the trio. Vinothkumar, a friend of Ayyasamy, and Aatheeswaran, his neighbor, were involved in the confrontation. Ayyasamy allegedly teased Vinothkumar with a nickname, which enraged him and led to a verbal altercation.
The situation escalated when the three men verbally abused Ayyasamy and assaulted him with a weapon, leaving him with cuts to his left wrist and right arm. Ayyasamy was taken to Sivagangai Medical College Hospital, where his condition is reported to be stable.
