Overview
- Villagers from Perumpalli tried to bury 90-year-old Chenni in the local cemetery on October 5 and were blocked by dominant-caste residents, after which two Dalit men fell at the others’ feet under alleged threats.
- Perundurai tahsildar C. Selvakumar had earlier declared the burial ground common to all communities and has sent a preliminary report to district collector S. Kandasamy.
- Thingalur police registered a case on the complaint of revenue officials and invoked the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act while Gobichettipalayam DSP Srinivasan was given charge of the inquiry.
- A video of the humiliation circulated widely on social media, drawing public outrage and political demands for action while critics have questioned the conduct of police and revenue officials who were present.
- The episode reflects a longer pattern of caste exclusion that forced SC families to use a burial ground five kilometres away and could lead to added charges, administrative review, and scrutiny of local power and labour relations.