Tension gripped the village of Seshasamudram in Villupuram yet again on Saturday after a house and cowshed belonging to two Vanniyar families were set on fire, reports ToI.
The village in Tamil Nadu has been simmering with tensions ever since August 15 when about 10 huts of a Dalit colony were burnt down due to inter-caste rivalries and disagreements over temple-events.
ToI reports
Police said unidentified people torched a thatched house and cowshed belonging to A Manivel, and a haystack belonging to A Kannan in the afternoon. They were gutted by the time a fire tender rushed to the village. The attack was carried out when Manivel, Kannan and their family members were out for work, police said.
Fire and rescue personnel were able to control the fire from spreading to nearby houses. No one was injured in the incident. Media reports suggest that the police are not ruling out caste-angle to the crime.
The Hindu reports,
A senior police official said that vigil had been stepped up in the village and curfew imposed following the incidents of violence and arson on August 16.
A large number of police personnel are camping in the village and the colony and it is not possible for outsiders to enter the village.
Police have conflicting versions and suspect that the incident could be self-inflicted or it could be a natural accident.