Dalit student who survived 2023 attack on him assaulted again

Chennai: Chinnadurai, a Dalit student who survived a brutal attack on him by three of his schoolmates from the dominant Maravar community in August 2023, was assaulted on Wednesday night in Tirunelveli by a gang of four people, who lured him to a secluded place after allegedly befriending him on a mobile app.

Tirunelveli Police claimed initial investigations revealed that there was “no caste angle” to the assault as Chinnadurai suffered injuries while resisting an attempt by the gang to snatch his mobile phone. They said 19-year-old Chinnadurai was lured to Vasantham Nagar locality by the gang on Wednesday on the pretext of meeting him.

Suresh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Palayamkottai), said a person who got acquainted with Chinnadurai over a social media platform called him on his mobile phone and asked him to meet him ostensibly to invite him to a family wedding.

“The gang tried to snatch Chinnadurai’s mobile phone, but he resisted their attempt. In the process, Chinnadurai suffered injuries, and he will be discharged after treatment,” Suresh said. Chinnadurai told his mother and the police personnel guarding his family that he was going to meet a friend on his two-wheeler.

Suresh added that Chinnadurai told them that he knew the person on Instagram, but he was not able to remember the password. “He is very disturbed, and we will wait for him to open up,” he said.

Chinnadurai, then 17, and his 14-year-old sister were brutally attacked by three of his schoolmates -- all Maravars, an influential Other Backwards Community (OBC) part of the Mukulathors – using a sickle in Nanguneri, their home town on August 8, 2023.

After multiple surgeries and months of hospitalisation, the teenager was discharged and his family of his mother and sister, was allotted a house in a government housing society to ensure his safety. After clearing his plus-two exams, Chinnadurai got enrolled in a college in Tirunelveli.

The attack against him prompted the government to constitute a committee headed by retired Madras High Court judge Justice K Chandru to study caste violence inside classrooms and suggest measures to prevent them.

Justice Chandru had suggested a slew of measures, including the removal of caste prefix from school names; keeping caste names away from attendance registers, and a 'Code of Conduct' for teachers and staff of any school, college or university run by the state government to prevent such incidents.

Congress MP and former Karnataka-cadre IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil condemned the fresh attack on Chinnadurai and sought to know how the government failed to protect him.

“This reflects how deeply caste prejudice is ingrained, even among children. I urge the Hon'ble Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to take immediate action against the culprits and implement the Justice Chandru Committee recommendations without delay. Schools must educate, not perpetuate discrimination. Enough is enough,” he wrote on his X page.