Bhopal/Sagar: A Dalit community youth was allegedly beaten to death by a group of people over an old enmity in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, police on Sunday said, adding they have arrested eight persons so far in this connection.
The opposition Congress and as well as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP) hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government over the incident, which took place on Thursday.
The ruling BJP, however, said action was promptly taken in the case and it was fortunate that Congress president Mallikarjin Kharge and his party leaders adopt a selective approach on crimes.
The deceased, Nitin Ahirwar aka Lalu, in the age group of 18 to 20 years and a resident of Barodia Nonagir village under Khurai Dehat (rural) police station limits, was beaten up on Thursday following which the police registered a case against nine identified and three-four unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 307 (attempt to murder), Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Uikey said.
The youth died when he was being taken for treatment to a hospital in Sagar, following which IPC section 302 (murder) and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were added, Uikey said. The ASP said according to police records, the deceased was facing seven cases of extortion, beating and theft.
The alleged incident occurred due to an old enmity and the deceased’s family members were initially not performing the last rites, claiming the accused were not arrested, he said. But, the district collector assured them of help under government schemes, the official said, adding that eight accused have been arrested and search for others is underway.
The family members later performed the last rites of the deceased, he said.
Talking to reporters, the deceased’s sister alleged her brother was mercilessly beaten to death as some persons were pressuring her for a compromise in an old case of harassment.
Asked about this, ASP Uikey said the deceased’s sister filed a FIR in 2019 against four persons, following which a case on charges of threatening and beating was registered and all the four accused were arrested. The case is sub-judice, he added.