Tamil Nadu village tense after 2 Dalit houses burnt

Seshasamudram village in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu which has been seeing clashes between Dalits and Vanniyars since weeks was engulfed in violence, reports The New Indian Express. On Monday, miscreants hurled petrol bombs on the huts belonging to Dalits siblings. No one was injured in the incident. 

The Dalit siblings have alleged that the fire was started by Vanniyars. Apparently, they lost many electronic items as well as important documents like land pattas and ration cards in the fire on Monday night.

A fortnight ago, caste clashes broke out in this village over a temple procession. Since then, more than 10 houses have been burnt down. Nearly 40 people have been injured in the fights that broke out.

The victims of the recent fire have said that their houses were burnt as they spoke to the media about the earlier riots. They claimed a few Vanniyars men had threatened them. Sasikela, whose husband Chandran had spoken to the media, said that some of the Vanniyars had issued death threats to him. "If anything happens to my husband or my family, the Vanniyars are to blame," she said.