Human waste in tank case: Dalits of Vengaivayal in TN's Pudukottai to boycott LS election

Chennai, April 15 (IANS) Residents of Vengaivayal Dalit colony in Muttukadu panchayat in Tamil Nadu's Pudukottai district on Monday announced that they would boycott the ensuing Lok Sabha elections over lack of action in the human excreta in the water tank case. 

The Dalit residents, comprising around 30 families, of Vengaivayal put up banners announcing their decision to boycott the poll at two places in the village.

Pudukottai comes under Tiruchirappalli Lok Sabha constituency where Durai Vaiko, son of MDMK leader Vaiko, is contesting the polls as INDIA bloc candidate, while the AIADMK has fielded Karuppiah and the NDA candidate is Senthilnathan of the AMMK.

The residents threatened to boycott the elections after the state police's CB-CID failed to arrest those involved in mixing human faeces in an overhead drinking water tank in the village.

The incident that happened on December 26, 2022, led to a major uproar in the state and there were allegations that either upper caste or intermediary caste people were behind the crime.

The CB-CID has been investigating the case but has found no leads, saying that as there was no direct evidence in the case, they were trying to find scientific evidence and have conducted DNA tests and voice analysis of some of the suspects.

However, the local Dalits are not convinced.

Talking to IANS. Vengaivayal Dalit colony resident K. Shailaja said: "It is going to be two years since the incident took place, but we haven’t got justice yet. We have been traumatised and there was serious investigation when the issue hit the headlines and now nothing is happening. Politicians come to us only during elections and we have decided to boycott the ensuing Lok Sabha polls."

"People of the village were not even able to travel by bus to another village to attend even a family function as police suspect that we may be going for protest," she added.

Another resident M.K. Velu said: "To hold a function, we have to get permission from the Deputy Superintendent of Police and Superintendent of Police. We are boycotting this Lok Sabha election as we don’t have any other option left."

He said that with constant police presence, the village felt like an open prison and that they wanted an end to this kind of torture. Velu said that as they were few in numbers, no politician was taking up the issue but their protest by boycotting the polls would make the matter again known to the outside world.

--IANS

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