Six men belonging to the Maravar community (classified as the Most Backward Class in Tamil Nadu) were arrested by Tirunelveli police on October 31, Tuesday for allegedly beating, disrobing, and urinating on two Dalit youths on the Thamirabarani river bed on Monday, late at night. The victims were identified as Manoj Kumar (21) and Mariappan (19), belonging to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community, classified as a Scheduled Caste in the state and they hail from Manimoorthispuram in Palayamkottai. The perpetrators also snatched their cellphones and silver jewels at knife point.  

In southern Tamil Nadu, the Devendra Kula Vellalars and the Maravars are frequently locked in bitter battles, the former being a very assertive Dalit section.

Manoj and Mariappan are working as cable TV operators in a private firm in Tirunelveli. As per reports, they went to take a bath in the river around 7 p.m. on Monday, October 30. A group of men, in an inebriated state, set upon them and wanted to know where they lived and also their caste.

When the Dalit men revealed their identity, the attacks by the drunken group became vicious. The Maravar youths disrobed them and urinated upon them. The torture continued past midnight, it has been alleged. 

One of the accused also called the employer of Manoj and Mariappan and urged him to credit Rs 5000 on their account. The Maravar youths allegedly snatched their ATM cards and withdrew Rs 5,000 from the bank account of one of the two Dalit boys. 

The perpetrators threatened them not to disclose the incident to anyone and continued to beat them till 1 in the morning. Later the victims managed to escape from the site. Now both of them are under treatment at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.  

Following a complaint against the six inebriated OBCs at Thachanallur police station, Ponnumani (25), Nallamuthu (21), Aayiram (19), Ramar (22), Lakshmanakumar (19), and Siva (22) from Tirunelveli were arrested. They were booked under various sections of the IPC and also under the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act 1989.

Talking to TNM, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi functionary Murugan Kannan stated that the police were trying to portray the torture and assault on Dalits as a simple act of robbery and urged them to conduct a fair inquiry. 

Read: In southern Tamil Nadu, caste pride is turning minors into aggressors