File chargesheet in Dalit girl beheading case in 15 days:Panel

: The National Commission for Scheduled Caste has directed the police to file the chargesheet in the case related to recent beheading of a teenage Dalit girl in a village near Athur in Salem district of Tamil Nadu.

The commission has taken up the case on its own and sent a notice to the district Collector and police department for follow-up, its vice-chairman L Murugan said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function to distribute protective gears to sanitary workers here, he said the commission had directed the police department to file the chargesheet against the 27-year-old man, the accused, and take steps to detain him under the Goondas Act.

It had also asked the government to decide on the compensation for the family of the girl, he said.

The girl, daughter of a labourer, was beheaded by her neighbour last month after she had rejected his advances.

Accused Dinesh Kumar has been arrested and lodged in Salem jail.

Compared to Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the condition of Adi Dravidar hostels was poor in Tamil Nadu and he had written to the government on this, Murugan added.