Tamil Nadu human feces issue: Dalit outfits come out against police

Chennai, Jan 16 (IANS) With the investigation on the persons or groups behind the dropping of human excreta in the drinking water tank at Vengaivayal in Pudukottai district gaining momentum, Dalit outfits have charged that the police were threatening the local SC community members.

It may be recalled that human excreta was found in huge quantities in an overhead water tank that supply drinking water to a Dalit colony in the Vengaivayal village of the Pudukottai district. This led to a major uproar and the Pudkottai, the district collector and district superintendent of police on investigation found that more Dalit discrimination was taking place in the village.

The District Superintendent of Police had directly ordered the arrest of a husband, wife couple who in their small restaurant were keeping separate tumblers for people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community. L. Mookaiah and L. Siungammal were arrested by the police and remanded in judicial custody for having discriminated against people on the basis of caste.

In another incident, the district administration forcibly supported the entry of a group of Dalits to a local temple where people belonging to the Dalit community were not allowed entry.

However, Dalit outfits have now raised complaints that during investigation the local police have taken into custody many people belonging to the Scheduled caste community and were threatening them to accept that it was they who were behind the dropping of human excreta.

Sources in the Dalit groups told IANS that the police were even offering Rs 2 lakh as reward and even a government job for those from the Dalit community who accept that it was they who had dropped human excreta in the drinking water tank.

The Ambedkar outfit leader, Se Gu Tamilarasan has already petitioned the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police, C. Sylendra Babu on the discrimination being faced by the dalit community at the hands of the investigators.

The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), CPI(M) and even the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have raised their apprehensions on the police investigation.

The district police, however, brushed aside the criticism and said that a section of the people were trying to distort facts. The police also issued a statement indicating that the Rs 2 lakh reward was for anyone who gives valuable tips to arrest the culprits who were behind dropping the human excreta in the overhead water tank that supplies drinking water to the Dalit colony.