A 14-year-old Dalit student in Tamil Nadu's Madurai was allegedly attacked with a sharp blade by his classmate. The incident took place after school hours on Friday, 11 October.
An FIR has been filed under Sections 294(b) (utters any obscene words), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 3(1)(r)(s), 3(2)(Va) of the SC/ST Amendment Act, 2015.
Victim Says Attack Not Casteist in Nature
The victim had reportedly asked the accused to return his school bag, which the latter had hidden "for fun."
Speaking to The Quint, the victim said, “They hid my bag. I kept asking them for it and they wouldn’t tell me where they hid it. So I and some of my friends looked for it and found it ourselves. Then he (the attacker) said a swear word.
The victim, however, denied that there was any casteist annotation in the swear word.
“No, not caste and all. Just one swear word,” he told The Quint.
“He (the attacker) said, 'Hey look! There comes your father!' And when I turned, he slit my back and ran away. He's a nice fellow only, and we've never had a fight before. He usually keeps to himself and doesn't talk to anybody," the victim said describing the incident.
School Principal Denies Caste Angle as Well
Speaking to The Quint, the school principal also said that there was "no caste angle" and the incident is being "blown up."
He said that he got to know of the incident through a WhatsApp message and went to visit the boy in the hospital.
“I specifically asked him what had happened, and if there was any problem. He categorically said there was no problem. He also said not to take the boy to task, and that ‘he is a very nice fellow.’”
‘Caste Isolation Exists in Village’: Victim’s Mother
The victim’s mother, however, told The Quint that caste discrimination exists in their village.
“Isolating us on the basis of caste happens in our village. In some areas we’re not allowed to wear slippers, and can’t sit at some tea stalls. We had complained about this earlier, after which we were not bothered by such things,” she said.
Speaking on the incident, she said, “I haven't involved that boy's parents in all of this yet. Frankly, they're quite alright. That boy's father and my husband go together for daily wage work. His father and mother are both nice people. The boy, too, if you see him you'll wonder, 'did this boy really do it?' I don't know what got into him that day. You see, I alone know how much of pain my son has had to endure these last two days. I don't want such things to happen to any other boy. That is all. I had no other intention of making a big deal of this."
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