By News Desk
A 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly killed while playing Holi after she refused to entertain casteist remarks. The incident occurred in Bihar’s Aurangabad district.
The three accused have been identified as Ranjay Kumar alias Sunny Singh, Vinod Singh and Sanjay Singh. Ranjay Kumar is the son of former Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) district president Manoj Singh.
According to the complaint filed by the father of the deceased Dalit girl, Rajkumar Paswan, his daughter was celebrating Holi with her cousins when the accused approached them and hurled casteist slurs.
“The men started verbally abusing the girls. They said, ”You harijan girls want to play Holi? Come, we will play Holi with you,’” Paswan stated in his police complaint.
At first, the Dalit girls ignored them. This enraged the men who allegedly rammed their vehicle into them, killing the 13-year-old on the spot.
No arrests so far
Even though the incident has sparked widespread condemnation on social media platforms, calling for strict action, no arrests have been made so far despite an FIR. The victim’s family also alleged that the FIR was registered a day after the incident.
‘My son did nothing wrong’
Ranjay Kumar’s father Manoj Singh has denied his son is guilty. “No one had the intention to commit the incident and murder,” he said. He claimed that the driver lost control of the vehicle and alleged “political factors” to tarnish his image behind the incident.
Meanwhile, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has not yet responded to the allegations.
This story was originally published in siasat.com.