Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital not treating us properly: Dalits

The incident had occurred on March 30 when Dalits of Thottiyapatti were attacked and their houses set on fire by caste Hindus following a dispute over fetching water from a public tap. Over 30 houses of Dalits were damaged and three huts were completely burnt on that day. 

Following the incident, a NCSC team visited the riot-hit Thottiyapatti village on Wednesday and carried out an investigation. Senior Investigators of NCSC, Lister and Iniyan, along with Pandiraj, Member, Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, Madurai, visited the Dalit colony and interacted with the victims. 

During the visit, the victims narrated the turn of events on the fateful day to the Commission members and demanded assistance to reconstruct their houses. As most of the victims were daily wage earners, they told the panel that properties and other valuables they lost were earned through several years of hard work and they could not afford to buy them afresh again. 

Following their visit to Thottiyapatti, the team also held a meeting with top officials of Virudhunagar district, who explained to them the action taken after the clashes and the steps initiated to bring the situation under control. 

Following the meeting the Commission headed to Madurai GRH and interacted with the five youth, who were injured in the riot. During the interaction, the victims said that the hospital staff were asking them to vacate the hospital and avail treatment from their own village. 

Acting on their statement, the Commission met the doctors and directed them to provide special care for the victims. 

The Commission members also directed the doctors not to force them to vacate the hospital. The Commission members later met the media and briefed them about their visit to Thottiyapatti village and the investigation. The team members also said that they had obtained a detailed report from the victims. They claimed that the district administration had done a good job by addressing their problems on time.