An 18-year-old old Dalit youth from Theerthakadu near Vandiyur was allegedly murdered by a gang of Caste Hindus here on Tuesday.
One person was arrested, while four others surrendered in connection with the incident, said to have been the fallout of land dispute between the two communities.
Around 6.30 pm, Karikalan (18) was passing through Saurashtrapuram near Vandiyur when he was waylaid by a nine-member gang.
The gang allegedly attacked Karikalan with lethal weapons.
He was taken to Government Rajaji Hospital with grievous injuries around 7.30 pm. However, he succumbed around 9.15 pm.
A case was registered with the Karuppayurani police station.
Karikalan’s father Malaisamy, a lorry driver who worked in Chennai, accompanied by his relatives and neighbours, reached the hospital early on Wednesday.
Since there was no progress in the case till noon, the group, along with functionaries of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, gathered at the GRH and blocked the Panagal road, demanding that Collector Anshul Mishra and Superintendent of Police V Balakrishnan intervene in the matter to ensure a fair investigation.
When Anna Nagar Assistant Commissioner of Police Velladorai reached the spot and urged the protestors not to block traffic on the road, they walked towards the Collectorate, raising slogans urging police to arrest the culprits.
Some VCK functionaries then met the Collector and pressed their demand. Following an assurance from the Collector, they dispersed.
Later in the day, police arrested Karthick alias Pattakathi in connection with the murder.
Four others, identified as Poopandi, Selvakumar, Arunpandi and Sachi Bala, also surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate court here.
A land dispute between youth belonging to the two communities during a temple festival in Yagappa Nagar two months ago could have led to the incident, according to Muthamizh Pandian, the rural district treasurer and coordinator of the Vandiyur Theerthakadu Land Retrieval Struggle Committee.
A group, including Udayakumar, Veerapandi and Poopandi, subsequently attacked Karikalan and his relative Iyyanar, injuring them, Pandian said, while adding that Udayakumar was later arrested in this connection.
Now Karikalan was murdered as a sequel to the dispute, he said.
The dispute between the two communities, he detailed, arose 30 years ago and led to friction.
The conflict pertained to a nine acre, 13 cents patta land allotted to the Schedule Caste community in 1979, Pandian said.
He claimed that the Caste Hindus gradually encroached the particular property.
“Although a separate piece of land was allotted for Caste Hindus in Sakkimangalam, they are reluctant to shift there and continue occupying the land allotted to the SC community,” he said.
A civil case was pending before the Supreme Court with regard to the dispute over the property, currently occupied by around 150 SC families and 250 Caste Hindu families.
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