Toll in Sivaganga clash rises to 3, NCSC visits hospital

Chandrasekar (27), a driver, who was undergoing treatment for injuries suffered in the clashes, died.

The incident happened on Monday night when Dalits of 38 families in Kachanatham were attacked by a group of caste Hindus. In the incident, two died on the spot and six others suffered injuries. Palayanur police booked a case against 17 people in the incident and launched a hunt for the culprits. Police said the government had allotted free land to 40 Dalit families but two families of caste Hindus bought the land illegally and entered the colony.

Since then, there was tension between the communities as the two families tried to dominate the Dalits. Two upper caste youth, Suman (19) and his brother Arun (18), were the key persons behind the attack. They had on many occasions abused the Dalits. Suman was allegedly involved in the murder of Manamadurai SI Allwin Sudhan, who tried to stop illegal sand mining, in 2016.

Suman and Arun faced resistance from educated Dalit youth. In the recently held Karuppasamy temple festival in the village, the caste duo had demanded respect from Dalits who were sitting cross-legged and when they refused, it led to a brawl between them. After this, the Dalits filed a police complaint against the duo and when the police visited their house, they fled. After this, their father was picked up and taken to the police station. This angered them and they had attacked the Dalit households in which Arumugam (65) and Shanmuganathan (31), an MBA graduate, died.

Meanwhile, CM Edappadi K Palaniswami hiked the solatium for the kin of the deceased to Rs 15 lakh from Rs 10 lakh. DMK working president M K Stalin urged the government to take stringent action on those responsible for the attack. He also asked the government to make efforts to restore peace between the two communities.