The Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases registered under the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, has ordered that blood (DNA) samples of eleven persons be collected in connection with the probe into mixing of human faeces in an overhead water tank providing drinking water to a Dalit colony in Vengaivayal village. The special court had issued the order, on Tuesday, April 18, after a requisition was filed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch CID of Tiruchi Range, who is investigating the case.

The court directed that an assistant professor from the Government Medical College and Hospital, Pudukottai, collect the blood samples on FTA (Flinders Technology Associates) cards or chemically-treated filter paper. The 11 persons, whose DNA is to be analysed, include three women, and are residents of Vengaivayal, Eraiyur and Keezhamuthukadu villages. The samples will be compared to the faecal matter that had been collected from the overhead water tank by the CB-CID.

Sources in the CB-CID said a date would now be finalised for collecting the blood samples by the assistant professor. The DNA tests of the 11 persons are likely to be conducted in Chennai, they added.

First reported in December 2023, the Vengaivayal incident was initially probed by the district police. However, in January this year, the Tamil Nadu DGP transferred the case to the CB-CID.