As tension simmers in Villupuram, Dalits clash with upper caste over clicking image of deity

Trouble started after boys from the Dalit community wanted to click pictures of an idol kept next to the fire pit during the temple festival.
As tension simmers in Villupuram, Dalits clash with upper caste over clicking image of deity
As tension simmers in Villupuram, Dalits clash with upper caste over clicking image of deity
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It’s just been a few days since the tragic events in Villupuram on August 15 in which several huts were gutted and many were left injured after upper caste men set homes of Dalits on fire, and yet another clash has broken out between members of the two communities at a temple near Marakannam during a temple festival.

According to TNIE, during an ongoing 15-day temple festival, even as a fire-walking ceremony was on, some boys from the Dalit community wanted to click pictures of an idol kept next to the fire pit. This led to an altercation between them and members of an upper caste.

TNIE reports,                      

Soon, an argument broke out and it degenerated into a clash with the members of Dalits and Caste Hindus attacking one another with wooden logs. Twenty villagers, 10 from both sides, sustained minor injuries.

As the situation turned tense, police resorted to a lathicharge and dispersed the mob.  More than 100 policemen, headed by ASP Nisha Sekar, rushed and held peace talks. Security has been tightened in the area to prevent any further untoward incident.

The region has been at the brink of breaking violent eruptions for the past couple of weeks after members of the Vanniyar caste are alleged to have landed up in a Dalit colony and set huts, houses and a temple car on fire. Several injuries were reported but no one died. The reported reason for the earlier clash too was religious practices.

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