The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Attack on dalits: panel visits village

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Attack on dalits: panel visits village

Special Correspondent

VISAKHAPATNAM: A fact-finding committee which visited Kodavatipudi in Kotavuratla mandal said that dalit families of the village were attacked by upper caste persons and even pregnant women, old people and children were not spared.

The attack on the dalit families followed an incident on August 21 at the belt shop in the village during the festival of village goddess when some villagers objected to the liquor being served to them in the tumblers used by the dalits. One dalit was attacked by a villager and consequently the dalit refused to perform the traditional ritual of pulling the “Chali Bandi” (cart loaded with the prasadam of cooked rice) to the temple.

Later in the night about 200 villagers attacked the dalits’ houses. People were beaten up, their furniture and other belongings were destroyed, and even money kept by two families towards expenses of marriages to be performed was looted. At least one or two persons in each of the 66 dalit families were injured. Their relatives from other villages who visited them for the local festival were also not spared. The seriously injured were admitted in the Narsipatnam Government Hospital.

Action promised

Revenue Divisional Officer of Narsipatnam Prabhakara Rao who visited the village on Sunday assured the victims that cases would be booked against the culprits under the SC and ST Atrocities (prevention) Act and would be arrested.

The committee demanded support to the dalits as they were not being allowed to work.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh