Four tribal families, comprising around 20 members including children, were allegedly ostracised from Chinnaettipattu, a tribal hamlet in Peechamanthai village in Jawadhu Hills, by the village head since 2018 when two men in these families were booked on murder charges.
The condition imposed by the villagers led by Urran (tribal headsman), S. Balaji, 35, on the families in order to return to mainstream life of the community is to pay a cash penalty of ₹6 lakh in total. In other words, each family has to pay a fine of ₹1.5 lakh to end their ordeal. The affected families filed a complaint with Veppankuppam police near Anaicut. “The two men were discharged by the local court after they were found to be innocent. However, our families were kept away from all public functions like temple festivals and social gatherings in the village,” claimed C. Muthu, an affected person.
The incident came to light after some villagers allegedly damaged the pipeline of the local panchayat to prevent water supply to affected families a few days ago. Another reason was that young men in these families were unable to get married as no one in the village was willing to marry off their daughters to them. As a result, along with K. Ponnusamy, 55, C. Muthu, 50, the two men who were charged with murder five years ago, filed a police complaint on July 30.
Affected persons claimed that they were not allowed to enter the main area of the village including the muddy stretch and farm lands. They lived on the fringes of the villages along the reserve forest. They brought essentials from neighbouring tribal hamlets. Neighbours and relatives have not spoken to them. Children were not allowed to play with their peers in the village.
Following a complaint, a special police team led by K. Nagarajan, Inspector (Law & Order), Veppankuppam police, probed the issue and visited the hamlet. The police team found that the families were ostracized by the villagers.
The police organised a peace meeting between members of the affected families and other residents led by the tribal headsman on Tuesday, warning villages against such discrimination. A letter of undertaking from them was also collected to ensure such practices were not followed in future. “We have not got any complaint on the issue. However, we will inquire into the issue and create awareness among residents in tribal hamlets against such practices,” S. Kavitha, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), Vellore, The Hindu.
