The 2016 Ariyalur gang rape refers to the gang rape and murder of a pregnant 17-year-old minor Dalit girl, Nandhini, by a Hindu Munnani Union secretary and three of his friends in December 2016 in Ariyalur District. The men gang raped her and pulled out the fetus from her womb after cutting her genitalia with a blade. Nandhini died at the spot due to excessive bleeding. The men then threw her body into a nearby well. Her body was found in the well with her hands tied in a decomposed state, stripped of her clothes and jewellery. Police reports revealed that the Hindu Munnani Union Secretary was irked at Nandhini, a lower-caste Dalit girl, insisting on marrying her after she got pregnant with him after being in a relationship with her for a year. He was also pressuring her to go for an abortion before the incident. He attempted suicide by drinking poison while he was being traced for the crime and later confessed his crimes to the village administrative officer. All the men involved in the crime were arrested under the Goondas Act. Background Caste division Nandhni, aged 17, belonged to the Sirukadambur village in Ariyalur district. She belonged to the Dalit Community. The family resides in the 'colony' in the village of Sirukadambur, a community planned specifically for the Dalits. Caste-based segregation is common in the villages of Tamil Nadu. Yellow flags with mango icons, signaling solidarity for the Vanniyar-dominated Pattali Makkal Katchi, decorate homes on the Vanniyar side of the village, which has about 3000 households. While the 300 Dalit families reside in either government-sponsored households or huts made of dried coconut leaves, the support of the Dalits is spread among the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Relationship with Manikandan Nandini studied up to class 8, helping her family with construction work, primarily concrete laying, taking home 50 to 100 a day. Borrowing a mobile from her financially and caste-privileged friends, she spent a long time talking to Manikandan, moving on to a year-long relationship. Manikandan, aged 26, belonged to the dominant caste Vanniyar community, he was also a Hindu Munnani Union Secretary, who studied up to 10th standard and oversaw concrete laying work under the direction of the local leader of the Hindu Munnani, a fringe group formed in 1980. As they worked together, they went into a