TIRUCHY: A petty squabble with casteist undertones over cutting grass ended in murder after an elderly Dalit man was stabbed to death by a youth from a backward community in Thanjavur on Monday.
According to sources, Arunachalam (61), a resident of Adi Dravidar Street in Arumalaikottai near Thanjavur, had quarrels with the people from a backward community colony near Kudiyana Street over grazing cattle.
Late on Monday evening, as Arunachalam was riding his bicycle along the bridge across the Vadasery canal near Arumalaikkottai, Vivek (28) from the backward community settlement came by on a bike in the opposite direction.
The youth picked up a quarrel with Arunachalam, which escalated quickly. Sources said Vivek took a beer bottle, broke it on Arunachalam’s hands, and then stabbed the Dalit man in his throat. Arunachalam sustained severe injuries and bled to death instantly. The Ammapettai police registered a case and arrested Vivek on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, refusing to accept Arunachalam’s body, his relatives and neighbours, along with functionaries of VCK and CPM-affiliated Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front gathered in front of the Government Thanjavur Medical College Hospital where his body was kept and staged a protest demanding the arrest of two more persons who were with Vivek at the time of the murder. They also demanded a compensation of Rs 15 lakh and a government job for Arunachalam’s son.
Thanjavur RDO Elakkiya and police officials pacified them with the assurance that their demands would be considered as per the norms.