By Robancy A Helen
Tiruchirappalli, May 15, 2020: Women activists and lawyers in Tamil Nadu have condemned the torching of a Dalit teenage girl over land dispute in the southern Indian state.
“Girls and women are victims of all kinds of atrocities in society. We don’t have the right even to raise our voices as our freedom of speech and the right to life is curtailed,” bemoans Ahila Sindhuja, a woman anchor of FM radio, condemning the crime.
The incident took place at 11:30 am on May 10 at the Sirumadurai colony near Tiruvennainallur. The victim, J Jayashree, a tenth grader and daughter of Jayabal, a petty shop owner, died after sustaining more than 95 percent burns.
Sindhuja condemned “the inhuman act” by two members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a regional party for Dravidians.
Based on the girl’s dying declaration to a magistrate, police arrested G. Murugan and K. Kaliyaperumal. The girl’s family had a land dispute with Murugan.
Jayabal owns two shops in the village and his son Jayaraj, was sleeping in one of them in the night of May 9. Praveen Kumar, a villager, came for beedi (local cigarette) at night, Jayaraj refused to oblige. Jayaraj was wounded in a fight that ensued. Jayabal took his son to a hospital for treatment at night.
The following morning the father and the son went to the local police station to complain against Kumar.
At that time, villagers noticed smoke coming from Jayabal’s house attached to the second shop. When they went inside they found Jayashree on fire. They doused the fire and took her to the Government Villupuram Medical College Hospital in Mundiyampakkam for treatment.
In her statement to Judicial Magistrate K Arunkumar, Jayashree said Murugan, and Kaliyaperumal had set her on fire after dousing her with kerosene.
Based on her statement, Thiruvennainallur police filed a case for an attempt to murder and arrested the duo the same night.
On May 11, AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and his deputy Edappadi K. Palaniswami expelled the two accused from the party’s primary membership.
In a joint statement in Chennai, the leaders said the two members brought disrepute to the party by acting against its principles. The party also has given a compensation of 500,000 rupees to the victim’s family.
Sindhuja asks, “What is the use of expelling the men from the party? Similar incidents take place over the years.”
According to her, the perpetrators of atrocities against women get out of jail after some time. It is women who suffer injustice everywhere.
The police said the two men killed Jayashree as she had courageously defended her father whenever he had a fight with Murugan.
“Can’t Dalits own land? Don’t they have the right to raise their voices? Are there no one to help them when they are in trouble?” Sindhuja asks.
Janani, a 22-year-old graduate from Kumbakonam, regrets the silence of media over attacks on women, especially those from the Dalit community.
“Unless there are laws to protect women, the country would not prosper,” she warns.
Rayan Antony, a Dalit activist in Tiruchirappalli, said his community members are treated unequally by others. “We are not even allowed to talk about women empowerment in colleges and our homes,” he points out.
Offering his support to the victim’s family, Antony asserts that women should be respected irrespective of caste, color and gender. “It is sad to hear incidents of this kind. I feel humanity is losing its meekness,” he added.
Jusmi Sheeba, a school principal, too says society has to be educated to respect life especially that of women.
According to her, society needs to safeguard women from a male-dominated society. “Even though there are laws and policies to protect women they are not fully implemented,” she regretted.
Nandini, a lawyer, said she and her father tried to protest against the incident in front of the Madurai High Court but the police arrested her and her father.