Vengavayal row: Eight Dalits skip DNA test ordered by special court, move Madras HC

Eight Dalits refused to give their blood samples for the DNA test on Tuesday, April 25, in connection with the probe into the mixing of human faeces in an overhead water tank providing drinking water to a Dalit colony in Vengavayal village of Pudukkottai district. A special court in  Pudukkottai had issued directions on April 18 to collect the blood samples of 11 persons from Vengavayal and neighbouring villages. 

The test is being carried out to ascertain whether it matches DNA material found from contaminated water in the tank. However, only three people presented themselves in the Government Medical College Hospital for the test. The remaining eight persons skipped the DNA test alleging that it was being used to frame victims in the case related to the inhuman act of caste discrimination.   

Among those summoned, nine are from Dalit communities while two belong to the Mutharaiyar community, which is classified as Backward Class in Tamil Nadu. On April 25, a policeman from the Dalit community and two caste-Hindus including Muthiah, husband of Padma, the president of Muthukadu panchayat, gave blood samples on Tuesday.

Two Dalit men, Muthukrishnan and Sudarsan, residents of Vengavayal, who were summoned to give blood samples, approached the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court and sought to quash the order by the special court judge. In the petition, they mentioned that the CBCID (Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department) investigation made no progress in finding accused persons who contaminated the water with human excreta. They also stated that people from Dalit communities did not have confidence in the investigation. 

The petition said the actions and inactions of the Deputy Superintendent of Police of CBCID created strong doubts in the minds of the Scheduled Caste community. Instead of tracing the real accused persons, the agency is diverting the investigation by treating the victims of the incident as suspects and harassing them in the guise of inquiry, it said.

The petitioners also alleged that the Special Court approved the DNA test on the petitioners without sufficient materials. In the petition, the Dalit men from the Vengavayal alleged that the investigation team violated Section 15-A of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. Section 15-A of the SC/ST POA Act provides the rights of victims and witnesses. They also sought the stay of all further proceedings related to the order given by the special court judge. 

The special court in Pudukottai ordered DNA tests on 11 persons, on April 18. The order was based on the request filed by the CB-CID Deputy Superintendent of Police, Trichy Range. 

The incident came to light on December 24, 2022, after the government doctors advised the residents of the colony to check water contamination as many children who hail from the Dalit colony fell sick. The case was initially probed by the Pudukkottai district police and later, transferred to the CBCIS on January 14.  

Talking to TNM, Kathir, founder of the NGO Evidence, condemned the CB-CID investigation and said “no steps have been taken to find who dumped the faeces in the tank but the investigation unit is trying to establish whose faecal matter was used to contaminate the drinking water”. He called the entire investigation absurd. 

Watch: Pudukkottai water tank issue: Evidence Kathir slams TN police for harassing victims