Clash breaks out in Vadakadu during temple festival; 14 arrested, bus services suspended
An altercation while filling petrol in a bunk triggered the clash that resulted in houses of the Dalit people being ransacked and torched
TIRUCHY: Tension prevailed at Vadakadu village in Pudukkottai district after a violent clash broke out between youths from the Backward Caste and Dalit community during the Arulmigu Muthumariamman temple car festival at Vadakadu near Alangudi in Pudukkottai on Monday night.
An altercation while filling petrol in a bunk triggered the clash that resulted in houses of the Dalit people being ransacked and torched. The police arrested as many as 14 persons and brought the situation under control on Tuesday.
The festival that began on Monday evening culminated in the night. While the festival was on, two groups of youths from Mutharaiyar and Dalit communities who were waiting for filled fuel had an altercation that snowballed into a violent clash.
As the information about the clash spread like wildfire, a group of youths from the Mutharaiyar community ransacked the houses and torched the Dalit colony. They also damaged the vehicles and pelted stones at the buses. As many as 17 persons sustained injuries.
As the situation went out of control, the DIG (Tiruchy Range) V Varun Kumar, SP Abishek Gupta along with the Rapid Action Force rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. On information, the minister S Regupathy also visited the spot and consoled the injured who were admitted in the Vadakadu and Alangudi GHs.
Meanwhile, the Vadakadu police arrested as many as 14 persons from the backward community – Ramajayam (18), Dhanapal (25), Vinith (28), Praveen (25), Murugesh (19), Arjunan (28), Aravind (24), Manisankar (19), all from Vadakadu and Arul (21) from Keezhathur, and Vallarasu (24), Sathyamurthy (26), both from Maramadakki village, Priyadharshan (22) and Vigneshwaran (22) both from Anavayal, under various charges including atrocities against SC/ST act. Raja (19) from Pullanviduthi in the Dalit colony was arrested on charges of attempt to murder.
The arrested persons were produced before the Pudukkottai Additional Sessions Court on Tuesday and Judge AK Babulal remanded them in judicial custody till May 20.
Meanwhile, the Pudukkottai police said that the clash broke out due to a verbal quarrel between two groups of youths while filling fuel and the heated argument turned into an exchange of blows.
The incident was between two groups of youth from Mutharaiyar and Dalit communities and this cannot be seen as a communal clash as spread in the media, said police, warning that legal action would be initiated against those who spread false information.
