In the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, a young teenager from the Dalit community lost his life in a brutal mob attack, while his mother and sister suffered grave injuries from the assailants’ violence. The teen was beaten to death while his mother was stripped naked while trying to save her son. His sister was also brutally manhandled by the mob. In 2019, the victim’s sister had lodged a formal complaint against four men for blackmailing and harassing her. All four were arrested and this case is under trail in the court. As the girl did not yield to pressures to withdraw her case, a group of Thakur men attacked the Dalit family’s house.
“My son was brutally attacked and killed. I was stripped naked. Then the cops arrived and I was handed a towel. I stood there in a towel until they got me a saree,” said the young man’s grieving mother. Their house was ransacked and vandalized by the mob. The family claimed that none of the household items are left intact. Nine people have been charged with murder and three will face charges under the stringent Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Act. Eight people have been arrested, informed Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Uikey.
There is heavy police deployment in the village to prevent further violence and the situation still remains tense. The victim’s family performed his final rites. And the district collector had assured the family financial assistance will be provided under government schemes.
However, ahead of upcoming elections, the incident has ignited a political row in Madhya Pradesh with the opposition parties, including the Congress and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, criticizing the governing BJP for their handling of the situation.
Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge decried recurring crimes against Dalits and other marginalized groups within the state, attributing these events to an environment fostered by the BJP. He asserted that Madhya Pradesh has become a testing ground for Dalit atrocities. However, the government denied the allegations and stated that prompt action were taken immediately after the incident. They claimed that the crime was a fall out of a dispute between tow parties and that congress was unnecessarily politicizing the issue.
