Dalit beaten as mobike brushes man

BHOPAL: Another Dalit atrocity has come to the fore in which a middle-aged man was allegedly beaten by the kin and aides of a village sarpanch when he was passing before the sarpanch’s house on a mobike.

This happened just hours after a Dalit farmer was burnt alive allegedly on the June 21 morning at Berasia area in Bhopal district.

At Dharampura village in Tikamgarh district, Dayaram Ahirwar, aged around 45 years, was not only beaten but even threatened with severe punishment if he didn’t walk barefoot and carry slippers in his hands in future whenever he crossed the house of village sarpanch, who himself is from the OBC Kurmi community.

The sarpanch’s men also threatened to burn entire Dalit colony in Hanumantpura if he didn’t abide by their diktats in future. Ahirwar’s tragedy happened when he was returning on a motorbike after making purchases for his son’s wedding. The matter came to light after the video of Ahirwar’s beating went viral on social media.

Ahirwar alleged that despite submitting a complaint to the police, the cops didn’t act timely against the sarpanch and his men. Tikamgarh SP Kumar Prateek told TNIE said sarpanch Hemant Kurmi was not involved in the episode, but instead his brothers and aides who had beaten Ahirwar. Investigation revealed that the sarpanch’s physically challenged brother was being carried when Ahirwar’s mobike slightly brushed him and his men.

“It was this incident which acted as the trigger for assault on Ahirwar by the sarpanch’s brothers and aides. After recording the complainant’s statement, a case has been lodged against the three brothers of the sarpanch and one of their aides under IPC sections as well as under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. We’re making efforts to arrest the culprits as soon as possible,” the SP Tikamgarh added. Madhya Pradesh came fourth when it came to Dalit atrocties reported across the country in 2016, according to the NCRB data.