Dalit trio touch temple car, assaulted

According to sources, a car procession was held in the village as part of the annual festival of Vanmeeganatharswamy temple in Kovilur. 

When the car got stuck in a ditch, the devotees pulling the car reportedly sought the help of some youth, who happened to be Dalits, standing nearby. Even as the youngsters pulled the car from the ditch, a group from a dominant caste of the area rushed to the spot and beat them up, allegedly for touching the car and spoiling the deity’s sanctity. 

Following this, the attacked youngsters, including Pragadeesh, on Sunday decided to lodge a complaint with the Orthanadu police station. 

However, they were intercepted and again assaulted by a group of caste Hindus in front of Orthanadu taluk office and abducted by their attackers. 

Subsequently, C Muthukumar, the father of Pragadeesh, along with other residents from the village submitted a petition to the Thanjavur Collector on Monday. 

He demanded action against the group behind the assault and to rescue the three Dalit youth in the custody of caste Hindus. Police are investigating into the case.