Price of a Dalit couple’s lives in 21st century India: `15
29 July 2016 5:38 AM IST
Bharat Nat (48) and his wife Mamta (45) were attacked with an axe by Ashok Misra when they refused to give him Rs 15 in Kurra area in Lakhmipur village early Thursday morning. The incident occurred when the couple was going for paddy transplantation.
Superintendent of Police Deo Ranjan Verma and District Magistrate P C Gupta have rushed to the spot with reinforcements in view of the tension in the village. Police said the accused Ashok, who had a grocery store in Mainpuri, has been arrested. He was demanding the money to buy some intoxicant and an argument over the matter led to the gruesome killing of the couple.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the couple have been sent for postmortem examination. The Nats are a nomadic community and eked out a living by providing entertainment by the roadside. Many of the poor, landless Nats have abandoned their traditional occupation of rope dancing and jugglery and are mainly engaged as unskilled agricultural labourers.
In Lucknow, police said that Rajni, wife of the accused Ashok was also arrested in the case. Both Ashok and his wife Rajni has been booked under IPC 302 (murder) and SC/ST act.
Woman alleges assault was at Bajrang Dal men’s behest, 4 held
The two Muslim women who were thrashed at Mandsaur railway station on the suspicion of carrying beef on Thursday alleged that they were beaten at the behest of Bajrang Dal workers, even as the GRP arrested four persons in this connection.
"When we were coming to Mandsaur, few Bajrang Dal activists stopped us and enquired about what we were carrying. We told them that it was 'Paade ke meat' (buffalo calf meat) they did not listen to us and said that it was beef," Salma, one of the victims, said.
"Later, when we told them that get it examined from a doctor (veterinarian), they did not agree to it and asked the other women with them to beat us," she alleged. The woman further alleged that they (activists) also threatened policemen when the latter tried to protect them.
The victims, Salma Mevati (35) and Shamim Akthar Hussain (30), both local residents were allegedly thrashed by self-appointed cow vigilantes. Later, police arrested the duo on suspicion of carrying beef.
However, after medical examination when it was found that it was buffalo meat, police dropped the charges against them of carrying beef. Subsequently, a local court last evening granted bail to the two women. Salma demanded that those who attacked them and took law into their hands should be arrested soon.
The case was initially registered by Mandsaur Police and later transferred to the Government Railway Police (GRP) as the incident took place on the railway platform. GRP Ratlam's Deputy Superintendent of Police D R S Chauhan said that four persons, identified as Govind Rao Chouhan, Dilip Devda, Swadesh Chanal and Vikas Ahir, were arrested in connection with the incident.
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