Karal Marx L By

Express News Service

VILLUPURAM: An eight-year-old Dalit boy was al­l­­egedly beaten to death wh­­ile his 14-year-old old sist­er and mother were critica­l­ly injured, in what seems to ha­­ve been an attempt to rape the schoolgirl, on Thursday. This seems to be third incid­e­­nt with caste undertones th­­­is year within the Arakanda­nallur police station li­­­m­its.

According to sources, Nalini (name changed, 45), a widow, and her two minor children were residing in a row house ne­ar a farm plot in Vellamp­uthur village. Her other four children had been eking out a living in Be­n­g­a­lur­u and Tirupur as labourers ev­e­r since the death of their father four ye­a­rs ago.

The da­ughter was reporte­d­­ly a Class VIII student at a go­­v­e­r­n­m­e­nt school at T Devanur while the son was a Cl­ass IV student at a government primary school in Vel­lamputhur.

The incident came to light in the early hours on Thursday when people passing by the family’s house heard moans coming from the house. Inside they found the eight-year-old boy dead, with injury ma­rks on the body, while the girl and her mother were barely alive. The young girl was found in a state of undress — leading to the suspicion that she was raped. The locals informed the Arakandanallur police and rushed the injured to government Tirukoilur hospital, from where they were referred to the government Villupuram medical college and hospital (GVMCH).

A police team from the Arakandanallur station, he­aded by inspectors Jeyavel and Rathinasabapathi are probing the case. The b­­oy’s body was taken to Mundiyambakkam for autopsy.