Chennai: At the village in Pudukkottai where human excreta was mixed with drinking water, the residents boycotted Pongal festivities and hoisted black flags in their houses. The protest came after the police reportedly failed to arrest the miscreants who contaminated drinking water with faecal matter.
According to The Indian Express, a resident of Vengaivayal in Pudukkottai KR Murugan said, black flags were hoisted in the village as a mark of protest since the special investigation team (SIT) formed to investigate the matter treated them like the accused.
The inquiry did not head in a proper direction so a CB-CID probe should be carried out, he said.
Earlier, a few children of Vengaivayal got sick and later they were admitted to the hospital with complaints of stomach pain and diarrhea. Following this, doctors told them to check the quality of the water that they are drinking so the villagers checked the overhead tank and found faecal matter in them.
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After the issue came to light, Pudukkottai district collector Kavitha Ramu and superintendent of police Vandita Pandey visited the village along with revenue and panchayat officials in the village.
During the visit, the villagers also informed the officials that they were denied entry into the temple. As a result, Ramu said that an FIR was registered immediately against persons practicing the discriminatory practice.
The District Superintendent of Police directly ordered the arrest of a husband and wife who in their small restaurant were keeping separate tumblers for people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community. L. Mookaiah and L. Siungammal were arrested by the police and remanded in judicial custody for having discriminated against people on the basis of caste.
The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), CPI(M) and even the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have raised their apprehensions on the police investigation.
(With IANS inputs)