English: Children in a Dalit village near Madu...

English: Children in a Dalit village near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Madurai: Madras High Court Bench here has admitted a PIL petition seeking a direction to declare a village in Dindigul District as an area prone to atrocities against Dalits and provide police protection.

Admitting the petition by a Dalit woman, Justice M Jaichandran and Justice M Venugopal ordered the Dindigul District Collector to submit an action taken report on the allegations made.

Petitioner P.Palaniammal sought a direction to declare the Nadupatti village as an area prone to atrocities against the Dalits, and provide protection to the people by opening a Police outpost.

She said there were 500 Dalit families and 1,500 Caste Hindu families in the colony.

During June, Kalimman temple festival was celebrated when ten youths were assaulted for wearing banian. Since then numerous stone pelting incidents and assaults on Dalits by Caste Hindus had been reported to Nilakottai police, but no action had been taken, she alleged.

Claiming that untouchability prevailed in Nadupatti, she said Dalits were not permitted to use the public pathway, denied employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and socially ostracised.

Therefore, the petitioner pleaded with the court to direct the officials to visit Nadupatti, inspect the Dalit colony and submit a report to the court. She also sought relief for the Dalits who were affected by the assault by Caste Hindus.

 

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