The murder of a Dalit man whose sister refused to drop a four-year-old case of sexual assault against Thakur men on the same day that an Adivasi teenager was raped and murdered shows the appalling state of affairs in Madhya Pradesh. Ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party for 20 years, the state has the highest crime rate against Dalits and the highest number of crimes against Advisasi.
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh: On 24 August 2023, a Dalit man named Nitin Ahirwar was beaten with rods by Thakur men in Barodia Naunagir village in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, 150 km northeast of Bhopal. The 22-year-old died shortly after being hospitalised at the Bundelkhand Medical College in the city, 60 km from his village.
His mother, Badi Bahu, 55, who was at their home in Barodia Naunagir, was beaten by the same men and suffered a serious arm fracture in the attack—one more in the state with India’s highest rate of crime against Dalits, 16% of the population, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has governed for 20 years.
The dead man’s sister told Article 14 the men later stripped her mother in the market, but the police said there was no evidence this occurred.
The sister said the attack was meant to deter their family from pursuing sexual assault allegations she levelled at the Thakur men in August 2019, following which a case was registered under section 354A (sexual harassment), section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and section 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and section 3(1) (offense of atrocities), and section 3(2) (enhanced penalties) of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
This story was originally published in article-14.com. Read the full story here .