The incident occurred on October 8, but it came to light recently after MP Thol Thirumavalavan shared the video to highlight the caste atrocities taking place in Tamil Nadu.
Thoothukudi police arrested seven people from the Thevar community for making a Dalit pastor fall at the feet of one of them and apologizing. Although said incident occurred on October 8, the incident came to light only after a video went viral on social media, according to a report.
Thol Thirumavalavan, Member of Parliament and head of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), shared a 10-second video on social media to highlight that caste-based atrocities are not specific to North India, but also occur in Tamil Nadu . After the video went viral, the victim was identified as Paulraj, 60, from a village in Kayathar taluk in Thoothukudi district. He has around 100 goats and sheep and raises them for a living.
On the day of the incident, one of his goats allegedly ran into the herd of Sangili Thevar, one of the defendants in the case, enraging Sangili Thevar. He called Paulraj and insulted him using caste names, to which Paulraj allegedly responded. An angry Sangili Thevar entered the village and brought his relatives Periyamari, Mahendran, Maharajan, Udayammal, and Veeraiya. Paulraj said the group insulted him because of his caste and made him fall at the feet of Sangili Thevar and he apologized and took a video.
A FIR was registered against seven persons under sections 147 (punishment for disturbances), 294b (sing, recite or pronounce any song, ballad or obscene word, in or near any public place), 323 (willfully causing harm), 506 ( ii) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC read with sections 3 (1) (r) (intentionally insults or intimidates with the intention of humiliating a member of a Caste or a Tribe in any place in public view), 3 ( 1) (s) (abuses any member of a recognized caste or tribe recognized by their caste name anywhere in public view) and 3 (2) (v) (commits any crime under the Penal Code of the India (45 of 1860) punishable by imprisonment for ten years or more and section 66 (any person who submits by any means of a computer resource any information that is extremely offensive or threatening in nature; or any information known to be false , but for the purpose of causing mole stias, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult) of the Information Technology Law. seven people have been arrested as of Tuesday morning, according to Jayakumar, the Thoothukudi police superintendent. Deputy Superintendent of Police Kovilpatti was ordered to lead the investigation and submit a report within seven days.
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