Kachanatham Dalits murder: 27 accused found guilty

MADURAI: A local court in Sivaganga has proven all 27 accused, who are facing charges of brutally murdering three Dalits in Kachanatham village of Sivaganga district, guilty on Monday.

The fateful incident occurred on the night of May 28 in 2018 at the village over an issue of getting ‘first respect’ during a temple festival between the Dalits of Kachanatham village and a group of upper caste Hindus of Avarangadu.

Judge G Muthukumaran said that the court would deliver the verdict on the quantum of punishments for the accused on Wednesday.

The Dalit victims, including K Arumugam (65), A Shanmuganathan (31) and Chandrasekar (34) succumbed to injuries after being hacked to death. Dhanasekaran (32), the other injured victim, died in hospital days after the incident. Besides, five other persons were hurt, sources said.

In the wake of the incident, Palayanur police filed cases against 33 persons.

Adequate police force led by Superintendent of Police T Senthil Kumar was deployed in the vicinity of the integrated court complex and also at Kachanatham village, sources said.

Earlier, all the accused were produced before the court amidst tight security on Monday.