By TNN
TRICHY: A 29-year-old dalit Christian was killed and five others injured in a clash between two groups of people in Thiruvalarcholai village in Trichy on Sunday night, allegedly stemming from a love affair. The deceased has been identified as J Napolean. The incident has sparked protests and heightened tensions in the area.
Napolean died after he was assaulted by a gang of 13.
Four dalit men, K Kathiravan, 38, S Sankar Guru, 37, R Kamalesh, 20, all from Thiruvalarcholai, and M Jeevanandham, 34, from Sangendhi, were hospitalised after the clash. P Nagendran, 24, a youth from the Muthuraja community in Thiruvalarcholai, was also injured.
Initial police investigations suggest that the root of the conflict lies in Nagendran’s romantic interest in a college girl from his community. Police have not ascertained whether the girl reciprocated his feelings. Jeevanandham, a dalit from Sangendhi village and Nagendran’s friend, had been supportive of the relationship.
However, Vignesh from Thiruvalarcholai, a relative of the girl, vehemently opposed Nagendran’s romantic pursuit, leading to a long-standing animosity between the two. On Sunday night, when Jeevanandham visited Nagendran in Thiruvalarcholai, accompanied by a group of dalit youths, Vignesh and his gang confronted them, sparking a violent clash. The assailants wielded knives and wooden logs, killing Napolean and injuring others.
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here.