Tamil Nadu Temple Entry Row: Dominant Caste And Dalits At Loggerheads Again, Place Of Worship Sealed In Villupuram

As fresh tensions grew over the issue of temple entry in the Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman Temple in Tamil Nadu's Melpathi village in Villupuram district, the Villupuram district revenue commissioner Ravichandran ordered to seal the temple on Wednesday.

Notice pasted on temple gate

An official notice pasted on the gates of the temple read that the situation prevailing in the village because of the problem between two sections over worshipping in the temple was not normal. The notice added that this can create law and order challenges or issues. Considering this, till a conclusion is attained, both sections are not allowed inside the temple, according to ANI tweet.

On May 25, district Collector C Palani had said that following the fourth round of peace talks, the dominant caste in the village had agreed to the entry of Dalits in the Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman Temple in Villupuram.

Dalits were beaten up for entering temple in April

According to reports, in April this year, three SC community members were beaten up by dominant caste Hindus after they entered Shri Dharmaraja Draupadi Amman temple in Melpathi village. The dominant caste Hindus said that the entry of the three Dalits "violated tradition". A protest was held by the SC community following the incident and a police complaint also registered. Later, after four rounds of peace talks, it was announced in May that Dalits would be allowed entry inside the temple.