TVK govt not keen on enacting law against caste killing: Evidence

Madurai: TVK minister Vanni Arasu is interested in enacting a law against caste killing, but his govt is not as it fears losing votes, claimed A Kathir, executive director of the NGO Evidence, in Madurai on Saturday.He told reporters that eight caste-killing incidents have been recorded in Tamil Nadu in the last 75 days. “Karnataka enacted a law against caste killings, so Tamil Nadu, a state said to be progressive with social justice, should pass the law,” said Kathir. Before the election, minister Aadhav Arjuna had promised that the law will be enacted once TVK comes to power. Now they have to honour it, he added.Kathir said three of the eight victims were teenagers, and the most affected were youth, women, and dalits.

Evidence conducted a direct field investigation on July 2 into the death of a 19-year-old dalit youth and a 17-year-old girl belonging to the MBC community in Tharangambadi taluk of Mayiladuthurai district on Tuesday.Though it was alleged to be a caste killing, Kathir says police action was not satisfactory, as they didn’t include charges of abetment of suicide while registering the case. He said there are circumstances that the family members abetted the suicide, knowing both are in a relationship.

The father of the deceased girl criminally intimidated the boy’s family six months ago, he said.Evidence also conducted a field investigation into a caste killing that occurred near Thiruvonam in Thanjavur district. The girl died allegedly by suicide, but her family cremated her body without informing police. “As of now police have only registered an FIR for cremating the body without informing them and not for the suicide,” he added. He stated that a suicide case should be considered a murder if the family cremated the body without informing the police.