Crime Against Dalits

Dalit man beaten to death for attending garba event in Gujarat, 8 booked
The accused said Dalits “do not have any right to watch garba. He made casteist remarks and asked some men to come to the spot”.

india Updated: Oct 01, 2017
Press Trust of India, Ahmedabad

Hindu devotees perform Garba, a traditional folk dance, during the celebrations to mark the Navratri festival at Surat in Gujarat. (Reuters Photo)
A 21-year-old Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men belonging to the upper caste Patel community for attending a garba event in Gujarat’s Anand district in the early hours on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place around 4 am.

Jayesh Solanki, cousin Prakash Solanki and two other Dalit men were sitting near a house adjacent to a temple in Bhadrania village when a person made “derogatory remarks about their caste”, police said quoting a complaint filed in connection with the incident.

The accused said Dalits “do not have any right to watch garba. He made casteist remarks and asked some men to come to the spot”, an officer at the Bhadran police station said.

The upper caste men allegedly thrashed the Dalits and banged Jayesh’s head against a wall, the officer said.

Jayesh was rushed to a hospital in Karamsad, where doctors declared him brought dead in the morning.“We have registered an FIR under IPC sections related to murder and the Prevention of Atrocities Act against eight men,” the official saidy

Deputy SP (SC/ST cell) A M Patel said it did not appear to be a pre-planned attack.

“Jayesh was killed in the heat of the moment, as there was no rivalry between him and the accused. We are probing the case from all angles. The accused will be arrested soon,” the officer said.

Recently, two Dalit men of a village near Gandhinagar were allegedly thrashed by members of the Rajput community for “sporting a moustache” in separate incidents, on September 25 and 29.

The state had witnessed massive protests in July last year over the brutal thrashing of four Dalit men at a village in Una town.

Bihar: Dalit woman burnt alive for demanding her due

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Gaya, October 08, 2012

A demand for the money allotted to her under Indira Vikas Yojana cost a mahadalit woman her life in Bihar's Gaya district. The former block pramukh, who had siphoned off the funds, allegedly sprinkled kerosene on Putukwa Devi and set her on fire. Putukwa Devi died in hospital on Sunday.

The 35-year-old woman was a member of the poorest of dalits. The category was created by chief minister Nitish Kumar to provide them with special benefits.

An FIR has been lodged and accused Subedar Yadav is on the run. Indira Awas Yojana is a Centrally-sponsored housing scheme for the poor.

“In 2008, the money had been sanctioned in Putukwa Devi's name for the construction of her house, but Yadav had kept it,” said Pitamber Roy, station house officer, Mohanpur.

She had been repeatedly demanding for the return of the money, said Roy. On Saturday, he barged into her house in an inebriated state along with a few other men.

“The woman's husband Barhan Manjhi works in Bhutan and neighbours allege that she had illicit relations with the ex-pramukh. But that day, heated exchanges followed when she objected to the entry of his associates,” the SHO said.

Then Yadav, who was already peeved over her demands for money, sprinkled kerosene on her and set her on fire.

“Then they left, but Putukwa Devi, despite her condition, followed Yadav to his home. He took her to the hospital where she died a day later,” said Rajesh Kumar, deputy superintendent of police, Sherghati.

 40-year-old Dalit beaten to death for allegedly stealing lentils

Deenbandhu Sharma, a resident of Mahukhan village of the district, beat up Neelam Ahirwar on September 16 with 10 others, alleging that Ahirwar had stolen 15kg lentils from his farm.
bhopal Updated: Oct 01, 2017 
Shruti Tomar

Bhopal, Hindustan Times

A number of people from the upper caste entered the victim’s house with sticks and canes and attacked him and his family members.(File for representation)

A 40-year-old Dalit man was beaten to death for allegedly stealing 15kg lentils from the agriculture farm of an upper caste villager in Guna district late on Saturday evening.

The victim was identified as Neelam Ahirwar. Police have booked 24 upper caste villagers in a case of murder.

According to police, Deenbandhu Sharma, a resident of Mahukhan village of the district, beat up Neelam Ahirwar on September 16 with 10 others, alleging that Ahirwar had stolen 15kg lentils from his farm.

Sharma also registered a case against Ahirwar at Myana police station and handed him over to the cops.

Ahirwar was released on bail and a case was registered against Sharma and some other villagers under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

“This didn’t go down well with the upper caste community members. A number of people from the upper caste entered Ahirwar’s house with sticks and canes and attacked him and his family members. Ahirwar was injured seriously, while his wife received injuries to her head. Ahirwar was rushed to a hospital where he died during treatment,” said Avinash Singh, superintendent of police, Guna.

Ahirwar’s son Chhotu said villagers belonging to the upper caste community had lodged a fake complaint against his father and later beaten him to death.

“We are very poor and he was the only breadwinner of the family. Now, we are also scared of them because if they can kill my father for lodging a complaint, then they can kill us too,” said Chhotu.

Police have assured protection for the family and promised to arrest the culprits at the earliest.