Bhopal: State Congress scheduled caste (SC) department president Pradeep Ahirwar on Saturday alleged that Dalits are not safe in the state.
He mentioned three separate incidents of alleged violence and injustice against Dalits and demanded punitive action in each case. After an incident of violence and arson in Baktara village in Sehore last month, Ahirwar claimed, “Dalits are living under the shadow of terror in BJP rule.” The Congress party expressed displeasure over increasing atrocities on Dalits in the state.
Pradeep Ahirwar has expressed deep concern over the incidents against Dalits in Sehore, Guna and Morena districts. “After a dispute between two youths on Feb 24 in Baktara village of Sehore district, the anti-socials socially boycotted the entire Dalit community,” Ahirwar alleged. “The police and administration did not take any concrete steps to establish peace in time, due to which the situation kept deteriorating,” he said.
He claimed that after the dispute, a youth was killed and miscreants set fire to the houses and shops of Dalits. Women, the elderly and even children of the community were brutally beaten. This incident is proof of the negligence and inaction of the administration, Ahirwar said.
“There is a situation like jungle raj in the state and the govt has proved completely unsuccessful in stopping the crimes,” Ahirwar said. He argued that when Dalits were being tortured in Sehore, the home district of former chief minister and present Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, then the condition of Dalits in other districts can be imagined.
Congress party demanded that the district collector and SP of Sehore be suspended immediately. “The Dalits of Baktara village should be given security and the loss incurred should be compensated. The culprits should be presented in the fast-track court and justice should be provided as soon as possible,” Pradeep Ahirwar said.
Referring to another case of alleged atrocity against a Dalit youth, Pradeep Ahirwar said, “In Guna district, a disabled Dalit youth Laxman Ahirwar was implicated with false charges and sent to jail. He suffered a brain hemorrhage due to living in inhuman conditions for one and a half months. The family members say that if he had received timely treatment, his condition would not have been so serious.”
He argued that when a peaceful demonstration was held to get justice for Laxman, the administration violated democratic rights by forcefully removing the protesters. “We demand that the state govt take strict action against the policemen and land mafia who implicated the youth in false cases. Laxman and his family should be given proper compensation and health facilities. Concrete steps should be taken to prevent incidents of unnecessary harassment of Dalits,” he said.
In the third case, a Dalit groom’s baraat (wedding procession) was attacked and beaten in Morena district on Thursday because they had a DJ playing music. “In Motipura village of Porsa tehsil of Morena district, miscreants attacked the wedding procession of a Dalit groom because DJ music was being played. The baraatis were beaten up with sticks and many of them suffered serious injuries,” he said.
Ahirwar maintained that the police should have taken immediate action, but there was a delay in registering the case. “The administration is purposely ignoring such incidents of atrocities against Dalits. The Congress party demands that all the accused who attacked the wedding procession should be arrested immediately and given strict punishment. Special measures should be taken for the safety of Dalit society and the administration should be made accountable,” he said.
He further said that increasing atrocities on Dalits in Madhya Pradesh have exposed the government’s administrative failure. “These incidents happening continuously in the state have made it clear that Dalit society is not safe in the state. There is no such thing as law and order left and the administration is adopting a dictatorial attitude. The Congress party will not sit silently. If the govt does not take punitive action against the culprits, we will be forced to protest on a large scale,” Ahirwar said.
Courtesy : TOI
Note: This news is originally published in timesofindia.com and was used solely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights
