People objecting to appointment of Dalit woman as cook arrested

Jothi, appointed cook of Kuppankottai government primary school last week faced protest from parents of a section of students, who informed the school management that their wards would not consume the meals prepared by her, they said.

Three people were arrested for allegedly objecting to the appointment of a Dalit woman as a cook in a government school in Salem district, months, after another woman faced a similar opposition in nearby Tirupur, police, said Sunday.

Jothi, appointed cook of Kuppankottai government primary school last week faced protest from parents of a section of students, who informed the school management that their wards would not consume the meals prepared by her, they said. They also sought a replacement and reportedly threatened to withdraw their wards from the school.

Subsequently, the headmaster of the school alerted the block development officer, who convinced them and the cook continued to work there. However, cases were filed against six people, including the headmaster under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and three of them arrested Sunday.

Police said they were on the lookout for other three. A similar controversy had erupted in a government school in Tirupur district, where a group of caste Hindus had objected to a Dalit woman cooking meal for the students. Following the intervention of senior district officials and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the issue was resolved.