Madhya Pradesh: Dalit man's face, body allegedly smeared with feces
In another shocking development from Madhya Pradesh, a Dalit man's face and body were allegedly smeared with human excrement by another man belonging to a different caste in Chhatarpur district. The incident reportedly took place after he accidentally touched the accused with grease. According to PTI, the accused has been identified as Ramkripal Patel, who belongs to the Other Backward Class (OBC) community.
Here's what led to incident in Chhatarpur
The victim, identified as Dashrath Ahirwar, revealed that the incident took place on Friday while he was working on constructing a drain for the Gram Panchayat in Chhatarpur's Bikaura village. As per reports, the accused man was bathing at a nearby hand pump when Ahirwar accidentally touched him with the grease that he was using in the construction work.
Accused brought human feces in mug: Victim Ahirwar
While claiming the accused abused him on a caste basis, too, Ahirwar revealed, "Patel brought human feces lying nearby in a mug he was using for bathing and smeared it on my body including head and face." "I reported the matter to the panchayat and called for a meeting. Instead, the Panchayat imposed a fine of Rs. 600 on me on Friday," he added.
Ahirwar complains to cops against Patel: Know more
After a fine was imposed on him, Ahirwar approached the police on Saturday, and a case will reportedly be registered against the accused. Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Manmohan Singh Baghel told PTI, "A case is being registered against Ramkripal Patel under Sections 294 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act."
Police reveal what triggered the incident
On the other hand, the police claimed that Ahirwar and his fellow workers were joking with Patel and were playfully hurling things at each other. "They were hurling things at each other playfully when Ahirwar put grease on Patel's hand," revealed Baghel. "Thereafter, Patel picked up human excreta with hand and threw it on Ahirwar's back," he further claimed.
Recent incidents involving Dalit victims in Madhya Pradesh
This development comes only a few weeks after a video of a man urinating on an alleged tribal laborer in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district went viral. The accused was arrested after Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan took cognizance of it. Separately, two Dalit men were thrashed and forced to eat dirt by locals in Shivpuri after some women reportedly accused them of harassment.
Similar incident in Andhra Pradesh
In a similar incident from Andhra Pradesh, a video emerged online last week that showed a Dalit man being thrashed and urinated upon by a group of nine men over an alleged love affair in Ongole. According to the news outlet India Today, the police apprehended six individuals in the matter, out of which two were minors.
