Pudukottai (Tamil Nadu): Dalit people of Vengaivayal, a remote hamlet in the Annavasal block of Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu boycotted the Lok Sabha elections citing failure of the police to arrest culprits involved in mixing human faeces in the drinking water tank although more than a year has lapsed.
On December 26, 2022, unidentified miscreants mixed human faeces in the overhead drinking water tank meant for scheduled caste people residing in the village.
The incident had sent shock waves across the State.
The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) police probing the case have not been able to achieve any breakthrough so far in the case for over 15 months.
The police have conducted DNA tests and voice analysis of some of the suspects in search of scientific evidence.
As the heinous incident has been haunting residents of Vengaivayal, a section of people had erected a banner threatening to boycott polls over the delay in the investigation. But, the banner was removed by the police on the grounds that permission was not obtained.
Not a single voter turned up at the polling booth until 12 noon, election officials posted in the village said.
Meanwhile, senior election officials were holding discussions with the residents and pacifying them to turn up to polling stations and exercise their franchise.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice Sathya Narayana Prasad on Tuesday last wondered ‘why is it taking so long to complete the probe,’ while hearing a PIL seeking speedy probe into the case.
The bench directed the police that investigation into the incident cannot go on perpetually and has to be completed by July 3.
