Tirunelveli tense after caste-based violence; Security heightened

Chennai: Tirunelveli in South Tamil Nadu is tense after two back-to-back caste-related murders rocked the district in the past two weeks. In both the cases, members of one intermediary caste were done to death by a group belonging to another.

On Monday night, Nambirajan of Nadakkalur village in the district was killed following a recent dispute over a Sree Krishna Swamy temple festival. Five youths belonging to a different caste hacked Nambirajan to death. On Tuesday, the relatives, friends and caste members of the deceased Nambirajan's family blocked the highway leading to a traffic block.

Two weeks ago, a person Mayandi belonging to the same intermediary caste was hacked to death by a group belonging to the same intermediary caste that killed Nambirajan. Two years ago, another person Durai, alias Chidambaram of Seevalaperi village, was murdered due to a temple issue. Durai also belonged to the same caste of Mayandi and Nambirajan and the culprits were from the same intermediary caste that had hacked the other two to death.

A heavy police contingent led by South Zone Inspector General, Asra Garg has been deployed across Tirunelveli district to prevent any untoward incident. Sources in the police told IANS that there are possibilities of retaliation by the members of the caste whose members were killed brutally in the past two years.

It is to be recalled that Tirunelveli, Madurai, Dindigul, and Theni areas have witnessed caste violence in the past several years, and in August 2021, the DG of Police, C. Sylendrababu had camped in Madurai for a couple of days and formulated a strategy to prevent caste related murders after three murders in a spate of two days had stunned the administration.

With the back-to-back murders in two weeks, the people of the area are tense.

Journalist-turned-social activist Munirajan of Tirunelveli told IANS, "Police have to be strong and uncompromising on these criminals. A few people are taking law into their hands and creating terror psyche among the people. It has to be dealt with an iron hand and police must not shy away from doing their duty by suppressing these criminal gangs. People want to live in peace and it is the duty of the administration to make sure that the criminals and the perpetrators of crime are brought before the law and stringent punishment meted out to them."