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Dr. Ambedkar Government College Hostel is in Ranagapalayam, Erode District. Nearly 180 college students from various districts namely Karur, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruppur, and Erode are inmates of this hostel. In 2003 Rangapalayam caste hindus trespassed the college premises and assaulted the Dalit students. Food served in the hostel is seems to be very poor in quality and lacks taste. There are no proper toilet facilities for the students of this hostel. Due to lack of water facility to the hostel toilets, students have to walk nearly 1 kilometer for defecation in the nearby railway track. There is no provision of fan and switch boards are there but no tube lights. This hostel lack library facilities, water tank was in unhygienic condition. Hostel Warden Shankar and Students Selection committee member Marimuthu used to receive bribe and accommodate students with low marks. Merit Students and students who scores more than 1000 were also denied accommodation in the hostel. But they have fabricated the records as if all the facilities have been provided with the expenditure to the tune of Rs. 9lakhs. Even after repeated complaints to the BDO, RDO, Tahsildar and other concerned government officials, these students request were systematically denied by the concerned authorities.
On 09/09/09, Dalit Students of this hostel staged a protest demonstration seeking provision of basic facilities to the hostel. Government officials who arrived to the place of protest, started threatening the students they will dismiss all the students from their respective colleges jeopardizing their career. Students were verbally abused by the Mani, Jeeva, and Marimuthu (he is the students selection committee member). As the students stood firm seeking the provision of facilities and want to be heard by the District Magistrate, Erode Town Police Inspector Sekar threatened that he will order lathi charge. Due to the threat by the government officials, the students gave up their protest demonstration. In the evening students were provided with Detergents, Mosquito coils, and Mats. On 10/09/09, when the students went to the railway track for defecation as ususal, Rangapalayam caste hindus threatened to kill them if the students come there for defecation. The caste hindus told that the hostel warden Shankar gave a written order to attack students whom so ever goes to the railway track for defecation. When the students enquired about this with the warden, he blamed the students for staging the protest and told that the Rangapalayam caste hindu villagers will kill them, until unless the dalit students apologize for staging such protest.
Hence the students file a complaint with the Superintendent of Police regarding this intimidation and threat. Later the students were provided with all the basic facilities by the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department.
South Gowthamapuri Village is home to nearly 350 Dalit Paraiyar families. Nearby Brahmadesam is home to dominant caste hindus devar community. They have instituted a statue of Dr. Ambedkar on the road side. On 07/09/09, the Statue’s head was demolished by the dominant caste hindus Devar community people namely Kannan, M. Murugesh, and V. Muthu and others. Prior to this defamation, on 22/04/09, when the Dalits were celebrating the Amman Temple festival at the Karunanidhi river, caste hindu Kannan harassed dalit girls by dashing them with his bi-cycle. When Dalit youths objected to this, Kannan hit the dalits with the bi-cycle. Soon Kannan was joined by Murugesh and Muthu, who came with sickles. All the three assaulted the Dalits and chased them out. Hence the aggrieved Dalits filed a complaint with the Ambai Police station and FIR was registered under PoA Act against the three perpetrators. As the case was pending trial at the Trinelveli Special court, court has sent a summon to the Dalits for a hearing scheduled on 08/09/09. Hence the above mentioned caste hindu perpetrators who were implicated under the PoA Act, inorder to distract the people from the case and to threaten the dalits, have orchestrated this Ambedkar statue defamation.
On 08/09/09, Dalits of the South Gowthamapuri village staged a protest demonstration and also a fast unto death protest, seeking the arrest of the perpetrators who defamed the statue and also demanded a constitution of new statue replacing the damaged statue. As the District Administration agreed to provided a new statue, the dalits gave up their hunger strike and protest demonstration.
Vahaikulam Village, Nanguneri Taluk, Trinelveli district, is home to nearly 200 dalit Pallan community families. Pulaan village is home to dominant caste hindu Devar community. On 01/09/09, Vahaikulam villagers invited their community leader Mr. Pasupathi pandiyan for the Muppidathi Amman Temple Festival. During the occasion, he hoisted the community flag and spoke about the necessity of being united for the cause of their community. On 06/09/09, 9.30 pm E. Paramasivan, U. Mariappan and A. Manikandan belongs to devar community people who could not tolerate the invitation of Pasupathi Pandiyan towards the festivity, who came along the way in their bikes, on seeing the Photos of Dr. Ambedkar, Veeran Sundaralingam and Immanuel Sekaran, on the name board kept in the Vahaikulam, damaged the photos. They rub the photos with a stone and were defaming the photos. On noticing this, Indra w/o Aaroham, objected to this and questioned them for damaging the photos. Immediately the three perpetrators, started abusing Indra, saying, “Palla prostitute, how dare you pallas invite Pasupathi for your festival? They boastfully told that now we have destroyed only the photos, tomorrow we will kill all the pallans in the village. Indra came back to her house and shouted for help. On seeing the arrival of dailts to the place of incident, all the three perpetrators escaped from the spot.
Around 10pm Dalits of the village filed a complaint with the Mundradaippu Police Station regarding this defamation. As the police refused to register the complaint, around 100 dalits camped before the police station and protested against the negligence. Hence around 11pm police registered the case and arrested the three perpetrators and remanded them in the police custody for 15 days at the Palayangkottai Central Jail.
Vimal Devi Meghwal w/o late Shampatram is r/o village Odara, P.S/Teh Kishangarh bass, in Alwar Dist. She belongs to Scheduled caste community (Meghwal). Her husband who was suffering from psychological illness has been expired since last two. There after she was living with her three children namely Kapil, Manoj & Mahesh.
The children of Vimla Devi could not attend school due to financial problem; hence two of her children were working as a daily wage labourers at Kishagarh to earn their living. Vimla Devi herself was working as a daily wage labourer under NREGS at Shampatram to meet her family needs.
On that fateful day, 01/09/2009, while she along with her younger child, Mahesh was sleeping at home in the night, at about 12 a.m. some 2-3 unidentified persons broke into her house and attempted to rape her. She cried out for help. On hearing the cry, all her neighbours rushed to the spot. Meantime the accused escaped from the place by a Bolero.
After the incident it was lent that the vehicle (Bolero) used during the incident belongs to Sudhir Yadav, the personal assistant of Karna Singh, the Ex. M.P.
A criminal case was registered against the accused in Kishangarh police station on 01/09/09, No. 321/09, u/s 456, 354 IPC. The police have not been able to arrest the perpetrators yet
Nallakattipalayam village, which is under the A. Periyapalayam Gram Panchayat, is in Avinashi Taluk, Tiruppur District. In the village dominant caste hindu Nayakkars practices untouchability and caste discrimination against Dalits. Most of the dalits are engaged as daily wage farm labourers in the agricultural lands of Nayakkars. M. Loganathan (49), resident of Nallakattipalayam, belongs to Dalit Arunthathiyar community. For the last 12 years he has been Tank Operator in the Nallakattipalayam village, without any official recognition. As per the gram Panchayat agreement, he was paid meager salary for the work. During the Panchayat Presidentship of Ms. Vasanthi, a petition was filed with the District Magistrate to appoint Loganathan as the Tank Operator in the Village Panchayat. But the negligent district administration largely ignored this petition. On 31/08/09, during the Greivance Redressal Meeting organized by the District Administration, Loganathan again gave a petition seeking to appoint him as the Tank Operator in their village.
During the evening, as usual when he went to the Nayakkar neighbourhood to check the water supply, one Rangasamy Nayakkar (48), who could not tolerate the assertion of Loganathan seeking the appointment of Tank Operator, told him that hence forth you should not look after the water supply and we will appoint one from our own community. In return Loganathan asked, “Lord! how you are telling like this?. Intolerant and infuriated Rangasamy abused him saying, “Sakkili son of prostitute, how dare you question me”. Having abused him, Rangasamy slapped him repeatedly and hit him in his chest. On seeing the Panchayat Vice president Palanisamy, Loganathan cried for help. Palanisamy, instead of helping him, joined with Rangasamy, and pushed him down. Both the perpetrators brutally assaulted Loganathan. When Loganathan escaping from the assault, left his bi-cycle and torch light, reported this assault to Palanisamy’s friend Allimuthu and then he reported this through phone to Panchayat President Mr Rathnasamy. But Rathnasmay having no ear for the assault and told that we will discuss about this tomorrow.
Loganathan hesitated to report this atrocity to police fearing that the caste hindus might prevent him from getting appointed as the tank operator. As he was unable to bear the pain, with the help of his son, around 12 am, went to the Tiruppur Government Hospital for medical treatment by arranging a private call taxi. But the Staffs of the hospital, denied to admit him and asked him to report this to the police in the first place and then to come to the hospital. Hence bearing the pain, around 2 am Loganathan went to the Uthukuli Police Station to file a complaint. On reaching the police station around 4am, after listening to the atrocity as narrated by Loganathan, Head Constable Pachaiappan called up the perpetrators to come to the police station. Police Pachaippan asked Loganathan to come to the police station in the morning with a written complaint. At around 9am Sub Inspector arrived and received the complaint and gave a medical memo to gain admission in the Tiruppur Government Hospital. He received medical treatment for the next five days. The police have arrested Rangasamy and Palanisamy and detained them in the Coimbatore Central Jail.
Later the victim compromised with the perpetrators and choose to struck peace with them.