Police probe caste angle after Pollachi man’s arm severed in attack
COIMBATORE: Police are investigating a possible caste motive after a man’s right arm was severed during an attack near Pollachi.
M Murugan, the husband of an Odayakulam town panchayat councillor, was attacked on September 23. Doctors reattached his arm during an eight hour surgery.
Police initially described the attack as the result of a property dispute. The police detained Murugan’s neighbour V Aruchamy after a dispute over vacant land.
According to that initial account, Murugan had intervened in a dispute between Aruchamy and another resident. The two men later argued near the Odayakulam panchayat office before the attack.
Murugan’s family has disputed the property dispute account. His daughter M Priyadharshini told media that the violence followed an argument over caste discrimination during dengue control work.
Priyadharshini alleged that local body workers were denied entry to the accused’s house on caste grounds. She also accused police of failing to properly record the family’s complaint.
A police officer told media that investigators were examining the caste allegations alongside the original charges. Police had registered a case for obscene acts and attempt to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
State SC/ST Commission member S Selvakumar visited Murugan at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Saturday. Selvakumar said police would obtain community certificates from both sides before deciding on charges under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
Selvakumar also said government relief would be arranged for Murugan. The investigation remains underway, and the family’s allegations have not yet resulted in charges under the atrocities law.
