The community has been performing the duty every year, but this time they refused to do so. In a complaint filed at the Konanur police station, the Dalits alleged that the people of the upper caste resorted to caste abuse after they refused to perform what is termed their traditional task prevalent in the village for generations. The people of the upper caste also threatened them with death and said that they would be exiled, they stated in their complaint.
Based on the complaint, cases were registered against 17 persons of the upper caste.
People belonging to the upper community created a ruckus, after the Dalits refused to oblige. On Wednesday, the Dalits also reportedly refused to dig a grave to bury the body of a person belonging to the upper caste. Angered by this, some members of the upper caste called the members of the Dalit community for a meeting and said they have imposed social boycott on them for refusing to perform their ‘duty’.
As a result of this social boycott, the Dalits are now not allowed to buy essential commodities from the grocery shop, cannot go to the flour mill, to the tailor’s shop and to the saloon. They are also not allowed to go the temple. Cows belonging to the Dalits cannot graze on the lands belonging to people from the upper caste. They also threatened Dalits who violated these restrictions would be fined. The complaint stated that in the absence of protection, they feared for their lives due to the threat from the upper caste members.
On Thursday, a team of police officers and the district administration visited the village. Police personnel were deployed in the Dalit Colony.
