Chennai: “As of today, there are over 1.5 lakh acres of panchami lands encroached. We are continuing our survey to identify more such lands,” said National Commission for Scheduled Castes Vice-Chairman L Murugan.
Speaking at a press meet here Monday, he said, “In addition, adequate action has also been taken against the encroachers. We have formed a four-member committee for the process.”
“Government Order 15/41 has been passed giving all powers to the RDOs to investigate the misuse of panchami lands. Over 1,000 cases have been registered since I took charge,” he added.
Revealing the efforts taken against untouchability, Murugan said, “There is no place for untouchability in Tamilnadu. Very recently, in a village called Kaliampatti, near Morur, in Salem district, a government school cook named Jothi, belonging to Scheduled Caste, was harassed. Right from the school headmaster Sekar to the staff have prevented her food from being given to the students. As soon as we got the complaint, we forwarded a request to the Collector and arrested six people with the help of the police. They have been slapped cases with sections 31R, 31S, and 325A and told to pay a hefty compensation.”
Murugan also informed about the warning given to government schools. “This was not all. Very recently, a similar harassment happened in a government school in Avinashi. So, on behalf of our commission, we have sent a warning notice to all government schools in Tamilnadu that if they treat Scheduled Caste people wrongly, they will be punished,” he added.
When asked about the state of honour killings in Tamilnadu, Murugan, said, “Efforts are on to curb the menace. For example, DSP Vishnupriya’s father has given a five-page complaint to probe his daughter’s death for which CBI notice has also been given by us. Secondly, we have also sought Justice Singaravelu’s report on the death of E Ilavarasan. Udumalai Shankar case has also been effectively monitored by us.”