The Madras High Court has quashed a case booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 against Pirapa Kalvimani alias Professor Kalyani, an activist known for his work aimed towards the upliftment of the Irula tribes involved in catching snakes and rats. Justice M. Nirmal Kumar quashed the case against him as well as another activist Thangamani after commending their service.
A prominent activist, the makers of the acclaimed Suriya starrer Jai Bhim, had acknowledged the assistance rendered to them by Prof. Kalyani in understanding the lifestyle of the Irula community people by thanking him in the title card.
The quash petitioners’ counsel P. Vijendran told the court that the genesis of the complaint against his clients was a rape case registered against an Inspector of Police, a Sub Inspector, a Head Constable and a police driver for having outraged the modesty of four Irula women, including one who was pregnant, in Villupuram district in 2011.
