Erode: Even as a group of members from dalit outfits staged a demonstration demanding the arrest of gounder men who brutally assaulted two scheduled caste youth in Gobichettipalayam in Erode district, a peace committee meeting was conducted to defuse tension between the two communities on Tuesday.
At the peace committee meeting, the dalits represented by VCK district secretary Misa Thangavel demanded police to arrest the gounder men who assaulted the dalit youth.
He said 20 gounder men were booked for the assault that happened on November 20 at Kadukampalayam, but they were not arrested yet.
“To start with, four key accused should be arrested,” he said. The two arunthathiyar youth were thrashed and urinated upon by the gounder men, according to the complaint by the dalits, which was denied by the gounders, who in turn gave a counter-complaint accusing the dalits of attempting to steal from a house.
Thangavel said this charge was false and urged the authorities to drop the cases booked on the two dalit youths. He said though they were the victims of the brutal assault, the two were booked based on a ‘false complaint’ given by the gounder men.
The two are undergoing treatment in Erode government hospital, from where they released videos narrating their ordeal. The incident has sparked outrage among dalit outfits and political parties who have demanded the government initiate stern action against the perpetrators.
Gounder representatives said the two had entered a house, where a woman was alone and attempted to steal when villagers caught them and assaulted them. “There is no caste motive behind beating them. They are levelling false allegations to divert the issue. The two are habitual offenders facing criminal cases,’’ said a Kadukampalayam resident representing gounders. They threatened to stage a massive protest if the cases against gounders were not dropped.
The peace meeting was chaired by Gobichettipalayam revenue divisional officer Divyadarshini. The RDO and the police officers present at the meeting have assured that the accused would be arrested.
Courtesy: TOI
Note: This news piece was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights
