10 injured after clash in Chennai: Police
Over 10 injured in Pudukottai clash post-temple festival; Dalit house torched amid caste tensions. Police cite past enmity, suspects detained.
Over 10 people were injured in a clash due to previous enmity in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu after the Muthumariamman temple festival, a police officer familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The house of a Dalit family and two mopeds were torched during the incident on Monday, the official said, adding that the injured are undergoing treatment at Alangudi Government Hospital and Pudukkottai Government Medical College.
Dalit activist Shalin Maria Lawrence, based out of Tamil Nadu, said, “The fight started when a Dalit youth started dancing at the temple festival. A family I spoke to said that some people from a dominant caste had warned them not to dance and used slurs against them.”
Police, however, denied this and attributed the clash to past enmity. The suspects have been detained and are being questioned.
“The incident happened around around 9.30pm on May 5 near the Indian petrol pump in Vadakadu,” the Pudukottai police said in a statement. “A verbal altercation broke out between members of both groups over who should fill petrol first,” the statement said. “This led to heated exchanges, and both parties left the scene. Later, members of the Dalits family went to their residential area, where another argument broke out between the two groups, escalating into physical violence.”
