Chennai
Four upper caste boys have been detained in Karur district of Tamil Nadu for allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old Dalit boy and his grandmother. The incident unfolded after a verbal altercation between the Dalit boy and an intermediate caste boy on a government school bus. However, matters escalated when the intermediate caste boy and his accomplices visited the Dalit boy’s home the next day and assaulted him and his grandmother, Kaliyammal. Both the boy and his grandmother are currently receiving medical treatment at a government hospital in Karur. The victim filed a police complaint, stating that a group of about 20 intermediate caste boys had attacked them at their residence. Two individuals named Ilango and Manikantan, along with two minors, have been taken into police custody in connection with the incident. This unfortunate event follows another incident where Dalit students were attacked by intermediate caste boys in Nanguneri, Tirunelveli district. The Dalit Intellectual Collective has raised concerns about the identification of various castes through the use of wristbands in schools and called for the discontinuation of this practice.
