28, Sep 2015

Special Correspondent
Madurai, September 28, 2015
For seven months, they have been living in an unsafe place
When the Dalit couple raised a question at the gram sabha meeting, they would never have imagined that they would be ostracised by the community.
Narrating their woes at a public hearing organised here by an NGO, Evidence, the couple – Lakshmi (35) and Paramasivam – from Kattunayakanpatti in Theni district, said that the police and the district administration had not taken any tangible action to date.
The police registered a case against the accused seven months ago, but had not arrested them.
Mr. Paramasivam raised a question at the gram sabha meeting held on January 26 on the manner in which expenses were made by the organisers for a local temple festival. Angered by this, Ramesh Babu, who claimed to be close to district-level All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam functionaries, threatened the couple and also ordered the others to keep them away from their hamlet, they said.