HC upholds life term for 26 in murder of 3 dalits

Madurai: Madras high court on Thursday upheld the life sentence imposed on 26 people and acquitted a man in connection with the murder of three scheduled caste people in caste violence in Kachanatham village in Sivaganga district in 2018.A division bench of Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan and Justice R Poornima dismissed the appeals preferred by the 26 challenging the conviction and life sentence imposed on them by the trial court. The court allowed an appeal preferred by Ilayaraja and acquitted him in the case. The judgment copy is yet to be released.In May 2018, there was a dispute between people belonging to the scheduled caste devendra kula vellalars and the dominant agamudaiyar community over honours during a temple festival at Kachanatham. The agamudaiyars were not given honours in the festival at a temple belonging to the devendra kula vellalars. Following the dispute, the agamudaiyars from Avarangadu and surrounding villages entered Kachanatham village on May 28 and assaulted scheduled caste people indiscriminately. Three of the SC people — K Arumugam, A Shanmuganathan and V Chandrasekaran — were hacked to death, and several others sustained injuries.A case was subsequently registered against 33 accused, including four juveniles. They were booked under various sections of IPC, including murder, and under sections of the SC/ST Act. One of the accused died during pendency of the trial. The trial against one more accused was split up as he was absconding. In Aug 2022, the special court for exclusive trial of cases under SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Sivaganga convicted and sentenced 27 accused to undergo life imprisonment. Challenging it, they preferred criminal appeals before the HC.