Tirupur (Tamil Nadu): A special court in Tamil Nadu has sentenced six people to two years’ imprisonment for stopping a Dalit woman cook from preparing food for schoolchildren in 2018. The court, which deals with cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, convicted the group for caste discrimination and related offences.
According to the prosecution, 44-year-old P. Pappal, a cook at the Government Higher Secondary School in Thirumalai Goundampalayam, faced opposition from a group of parents who objected to her preparing food for their children. Their actions triggered protests from the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, especially after Pappal was transferred from her post.
A complaint was filed in July that year, leading to a case registered by Cheyur police against 35 people under provisions of the SC/ST Act. Eight individuals were arrested during the investigation.
Delivering the verdict on Friday, Judicial Magistrate M. Suresh convicted P. Palanisamy Gounder, N. Sakthivel, R. Shanmugam, C. Vellingiri, A. Duraisamy and V. Seetha Lakshmi. The court imposed a two-year prison term and a fine of ₹5,000 on each of them. Of the remaining accused, 25 were acquitted due to insufficient evidence, while four died during the course of the trial. All six convicted have been sent to Coimbatore Central Prison.
Speaking to reporters, senior advocate P. P. Mohan, who represented Pappal, said the Block Development Officer and certain police officials involved in transferring the victim under public pressure should also face action to ensure full justice in the case.
