Dalit Boy Assaulted: Arrests Made in Tamil Nadu’s Karur District

Four upper caste boys were detained in Karur district, Tamil Nadu, for allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old Dalit boy and his grandmother. The incident arose from a verbal altercation between the Dalit boy and an intermediate caste boy on a government school bus. The dispute escalated the following day, as the intermediate caste boy and his companions attacked the Dalit boy and his grandmother, Kaliyammal, at their home.

Both victims are currently receiving treatment at a government hospital in Karur. In a complaint to the police, the victim detailed that a group of about 20 intermediate caste boys assaulted them. Two of the accused, Ilango and Manikantan, were taken into police custody along with two minors. This marks the second instance of Dalit students being targeted by intermediate caste boys.

The Dalit Intellectual Collective has urged the state government to eliminate the practice of using wristbands in schools that denote caste identity through different band colors.