http://www.indianexpress.com/news/TN-wall-claims-another-life/381456
TN wall claims another life Express news service Posted online: Nov 05, 2008 at 2345 hrs Chennai, November 4 : A dalit teenager was shot dead by police and several others injured after another round of communal protests gripped Uthapuram village in Madurai where a 'untouchability wall', which has for the past 19 years physically separated the communities, was partly demolished by the state a few months ago. On Tuesday, a group of nearly 500 hundred Dalits, protesting the stoning of Puthiya Thamizhagam leader K Krishnasamy's vehicle on Sunday, attacked a police party, injuring several personnel including DIG S S Krishnamoorthy. According to officials, the police party lathi-charged and fired teargas shells to disperse the mob before firing at the "armed protestors". The shootout left 19-year-old K Suresh of Kottaipatti village dead, while two others have been admitted to the hospital with serious injuries. According to the police, the DIG was on way to Ezhumalai where the situation was volatile after the attack on Krishnasamy's car. An early morning clash between the two communities had left five injured. The protestors, who have often charged the police of siding with the upper caste, blocked roads by felling trees and pelted stones at the police party, leading to the firing, claimed senior police officials. However, Suresh's mother Murugeswari claimed her son had stepped out of the house after hearing the commotion when he was shot down. Her husband Karuppaiyya was also injured. Ever since the demolition of the wall to make way for laying a road into the Dalit hamlet in May this year, Uthapuram and nearby areas have been tense with sporadic violence over small skirmishes between Dalits and upper caste Hindus. Following the demolition, a police outpost was set up at Uthapuram to prevent flare up of communal tensions.
