Bhopal, Aug 27 (IANS): A Dalit youth was beaten to death and his mother allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of men in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district.
The shocking incident happened on Thursday late night in Barodia Naungar village in the district.
The accused also vandalised the Dalit family’s house. The deceased’s mother said police gave her a towel to wrap herself, after they rushed to the spot following the incident.
At least nine persons belonging to the OBC community and the minority community have so far been arrested under IPC Sections pertaining to murder, sexual harassment and voluntarily causing hurt, a Sagar district police official said on Saturday.
According to the polcie, a group of men led by prime accused Vikram Singh (28) stormed into the house of 20-year-old Nitin Ahirwar on Thursday late night and forced him to withdraw a 2019 case of sexual harassment of Ahirwar’s sister by Vikram and family members.
When Ahirwar refused, the attackers mercilessly assaulted him with sticks and rods. As alleged by his mother, when she came to save her son, the accused men stripped her and thrashed her.
The critically hurt Dalit youth was subsequently rushed to the Bundelkhand Medical College in Sagar district only, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Meanwhile, referring to the June 2023 incident of razing of several houses of Dalit families, including those built under the PM Awas Yojana on the forest department land, state Congress chief Kamal Nath said, “During the present Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led regime, Sagar district is turning into an experimental lab of Dalit harassment. We demand adequate compensation to the bereaved family. I have talked to the concerned family and a Congress delegation has met them in Sagar district.”
Notably, this shocking incident occurred a week after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a poll rally in Sagar and raised the issue of atrocities against Dalit and tribals in Madhya Pradesh. Before Kharge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Sagar on August 12 and had laid the foundation stone of Sant Ravidas temple.
The village where the incident took place is located in the Khurai Assembly constituency of state cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh.