Caste-based beheadings prompt Tamil Nadu police to ban caste songs in private buses of Tirunelveli
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Chennai: After a spate of revenge killings and beheadings in South Tamil Nadu, the Tirunelveli Superintendent of Police V. Manivvannan has directed the private buses to refrain from playing songs that glorify the caste traditions in their vehicles.
Tirunelveli has been the epicentre of caste-based honour killings and revenge killings.
Quoting sources in district police IANS reports that the ban comes into immediate effect as the 'Thevar Jayanthi' celebrations are taking place in South Tamil Nadu this week.
Caste-related violence and brutal killings have been continuing unabated in South Tamil Nadu, especially in districts like Tirunelveli, Theni, Dindigul, and Madurai..According to a report by The Quint, the rivalry between the gangs of Pandian and Subash Pannaiyar had allegedly sparked off a series of revenge killings that claimed at least 12 lives in the area since 1993.
This year, such killings have returned as four beheadings were reported in Tirunelveli and Dindigul districts as revenge for caste killings that took place a few years ago
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced that the state government would not be a mere spectator to such violence and that police would use tough measures to curb it. Director-General of Police Sylendra Babu camped at Madurai and Tirunelveli and directed police personnel to conduct a recee of the shops and industries that make and sell knives, axes, and other such objects.
The police have directed the shops and industries to sell these objects only to domestic users and to maintain a register of the customers and their telephone numbers. Several raids were conducted during which deadly weapons, including firearms, were confiscated and some arrests made.
The district police, according to sources, is planning to introduce several programmes in the district with all castes participating. It is also planning to conduct programmes in schools to eradicate the culture of violence based on castes in the district.
