Union Minister L Murugan on Tuesday condemned what he described as continuing atrocities against Scheduled Caste communities under the DMK government, alleging that southern districts have been kept in a state of tension since the regime took office.
In a statement, he referred to an attack near Nanguneri’s Perumpathu area, where a gang arriving on motorcycles allegedly assaulted people at a roadside tea shop with sickles. He also cited a recent incident in Nanguneri in which petrol bombs were allegedly thrown in a Scheduled Caste residential area, including at a house wall, near a ground-level water tank and in front of a temple.
Murugan claimed that timely police action after the petrol-bomb incident could have prevented further violence and saved lives. He also recalled earlier cases from the region, including an alleged attack on a Scheduled Caste student, and the daylight killing of a Scheduled Caste youth named Kavin from Arumugamangalam in Thoothukudi district near Tirunelveli.
He further alleged bias in the handling of cases involving Scheduled Caste victims, citing the Vengaivayal incident in which faeces was allegedly mixed in a community water tank, and claimed that the real culprits have not been arrested. Murugan criticised Chief Minister M K Stalin, who holds the police portfolio, and said the DMK government must be held accountable by the public.
