Even in times of a pandemic, caste crimes have not reduced. In an appalling video now being shared widely, an elderly brahmin man can be heard hurling abuses at a sanitary worker.
The man abuses the sanitation worker alleging that he earns by collecting their excreta.
“You are earning because of us. The reason why you collect faeces is because we have come here. You earn by doing that,” he rages on. When the sanitation worker calls him out, asking, “Are you saying I’m eating shit?” The man without hesitation replies, “Yes, you are!”
He also brazenly encourages the sanitation worker to continue taking the video and threatens physical violence. This incident took place on April 10 at Pallikaranai locality in Chennai. While the person at the receiving end is Manikandan, a driver of a private sanitation vehicle, the man in the video Chandrasekar, is a resident of Pallikaranai, IIT Colony.
The video that was shared on social media and gained severe criticism from many. The Pallikaranai police have now filed an FIR against the man under section 294(b) (obscene words in public) of the Indian Penal Code. This section warrants imprisonment of up to three months and-or fine.
Speaking to TNM, Pallikaranai Inspector Azhagu says the complaint was submitted by Manikandan to the station only on April 15. “The lorry driver had gone to the area for work when this incident happened. He had submitted the complaint with the local Councillor who first told him that he would take care of it. This complaint was submitted at the station only on Wednesday,” he claims.
About the incident itself he says, “An argument broke out between the two because Chandrasekar had denied them permission to use the route outside his house, saying they should use the route they came by. Apparently it was a shorter route and Manikandan had driven the lorry using this route after finishing work.”
Update on April 17 4.05 pm : The Pallikarani police on Friday evening told TNM that the man had been questioned. While confirming that the man is a brahmin, the police added that he is 77 years old and therefore they would not be arresting him till the courts re-open.