Dalit teen allegedly attacked for riding ‘Bullet’ bike in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga, three arrested

A 19-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly attacked by three men from the Other Backward Classes community in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district on Wednesday for allegedly riding a Royal Enfield Bullet bike, The News Minute reported.

The attack was triggered by an argument between the teen and the three men, the police was quoted as saying.

The three men were arrested on Thursday. The police filed a case against them for attempted murder and violations under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, following a complaint by the victim’s mother, The Hindu reported.

Ayyasamy, a third year Bachelor of Science Maths student was riding his two-wheeler in the Melapidavur village when the three men, 20-year-old Vinoth Kumar, 23-year-old Atheeshwaran and 21-year-old Vallarasu, questioned him for riding the bike in front of them, The Hindu reported.

This led to a verbal altercation that escalated into a fight when one of the men hit Ayyasamy’s hand with a sword-like weapon.

The men attacked Ayyasamy saying that “only higher community youths can drive high-end bikes, Dalits should not drive such bikes,” The New Indian Express quoted the teen’s relative as having alleged.

However, The News Minute reported that the altercation began when an elderly man allegedly crossed Ayyasamy’s path, prompting him to stop his bike and have an argument. At this point, the three men who were…

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