Casteism in police force in MP: The victim, appointed on compassionate grounds, alleges that he was forced to do personal work including babysitting and looking after the dog at the Reserve Inspector's bungalow despite his repeated refusals.
Khargone – A shocking case has come to light in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh, in which a tribal constable has accused the Reserve Inspector i.e. Senior Reserve Inspector (RI) of brutally beating him after his pet dog went missing. The complaint, given in writing on August 26, has made serious allegations of abuse of power and caste discrimination within the police force that point to mistreatment of lower level employees, especially those from marginalized communities.
Rahul Chauhan, a resident of Khargone, is working as a constable in the District Reserve Police (DRP) line. Chauhan, who belongs to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community and is appointed on compassionate grounds, claims that he was forced to do personal work at the Reserve Inspector’s bungalow, which included looking after a child and a dog, despite his repeated refusals.
Sharing a video of Chauhan in the case, former MP and former Union Minister Arun Subhashchandra Yadav said, “Will police constables in MP now look after children and dogs at their bungalows? If the dog goes missing, the constable will be brutally beaten up? The case is from Khargone where Rahul Chauhan of the tribal community, who was posted at RI Saurabh’s bungalow, was beaten with a belt and abused with casteist slurs just because his dog went missing. DGP sir should take cognizance of this matter and immediately suspend the accused and register an FIR. This is not just an attack on Rahul Chauhan, but an insult to the entire tribal community.”
According to the complaint, this harassment started on August 8. Chauhan alleges that Reserve Inspector Saurabh Kushwaha assigned him “bungalow duty,” which included tasks such as looking after the officer’s child and pet dog, which were completely unrelated to his official police responsibilities.
Matters came to a head on the night of August 23. Chauhan said he was on duty at the bungalow that day and left for home after informing the Reserve Inspector and locking the main gate around 10:00 pm. But around 1:20 am, he saw the Reserve Inspector’s car approaching his house, accompanied by Kushwaha, a subedar, driver Kishan, ‘stick man’ Rakesh and constable Lucky Barde.
Chauhan says the Reserve Inspector snatched his mobile phone, forcibly made him sit in the car and drove to the bungalow. There, other staff were sent outside the main gate, and Chauhan was taken to a back room, where Kushwaha allegedly beat him brutally with a belt. “He kept asking me repeatedly where the dog was and kept hitting me without listening to me,” Chauhan elaborated in his complaint.
After the beating, Chauhan was taken to Khargone district hospital by assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Lakhan Mehar, Subedar Dipendra Survankar, constable Badal, head constable Chhagan Kushwah and driver Kishan. But he claims the medical examination was limited to alcohol consumption, and the injuries on his body were not examined. “I was not allowed to talk to the doctor properly.”
After the hospital, Chauhan was again taken to the bungalow. There, the reserved inspector’s wife allegedly insulted him, called him a “low caste adivasi” and threatened to hit him with a slipper. She allegedly said, “Find my dog or else I will end your job. Keep your policemanship aside, your aukaat is worth nothing.”
Around 4:00 am, Chauhan was dropped home by quarter guard in-charge ASI Lakhan Mehar and sentry Chetan Jat in Mehar’s car. The next morning on August 24, Chauhan reached DRP line around 10:40 am. Soon after, the Reserve Inspector came there and took him to his chamber, where he allegedly misbehaved with Chauhan and levelled false allegations against him. Later, Chauhan was again called to the bungalow, where he was beaten and abused even in front of his wife. The helpless couple promised that they would somehow find the dog and give it to him. Only after this, Chauhan’s mobile phone was returned.
Chauhan stressed in his complaint that he had refused bungalow duty earlier too, but he was pressurised and forced to do household chores, looking after the dog and looking after the child. Now the Reserve Inspector and his wife are allegedly threatening to dismiss him if he complains, saying “go to whoever you want, you can’t do anything to me”. A Subedar too reiterated the same thing saying that nothing will happen if he complains.
On August 26, Chauhan personally went to the Superintendent of Police’s office. He says the SP dismissed his complaint and said, “You were drunk; write an apology letter and apologise. If you apologise, I will not take any action against you.”
Seeking justice, Chauhan said “Being an ST person and a recipient of compassionate appointment, I have been exploited and insulted”. The Reserve Inspector has sought registration of a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 against Saurabh Kushwaha and his wife alleging caste-based insult and physical assault.
Copies of the complaint addressed to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Khargone have been sent to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Nimar Range, Inspector General of Police (IG) of Indore Rural Zone, Director General of Police (DGP) in Bhopal, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in New Delhi.
Geetha Sunil Pillai
Courtesy : Hindi News