Three members of an upper-caste Hindu family in Maharashtra’s Malwani, near Malad West, have been booked for hurling casteist slurs at a Dalit man and verbally abusing him outside a local temple.
The incident, which occurred on June 28, took place at the Omkareshwar Mahadev temple, where the 45-year-old complainant, a plumber by profession, had gone to assist in putting up a no-parking board.
According to the FIR, the confrontation began when the complainant, accompanied by the temple trust president Mithilesh Singh, was installing the signboard, and Sonu Upadhyay, a local resident, objected and began abusing the complainant, using caste-based slurs and questioning his presence at the temple due to his lower caste background.
The FIR further states that Sonu’s parents, Omkarnath and Parvati Upadhyay, joined in the abuse.
The complainant alleged that the family’s hostility stemmed from the fact that a Dalit family had performed the opening-day puja when the temple was inaugurated four years ago. He described the abuse as a continuation of the caste-based discrimination he has faced from the Upadhyay family.
“Such a casteist and discriminatory act is shameful. We are in the 21st century. Four years ago, when the temple was being constructed, people from all communities and religions came together and worked for it. Since a Harijan family performed puja on the opening day of the temple, the Upadhyay family has been upset over this,” the complainant said.
Mithilesh Singh, president of the Omkareshwar Mahadev temple foundation, said the complainant had long been offering voluntary service at the temple. “The Upadhyay family has been misbehaving with him for a long time, and they abused him when we were putting up a no-parking board,” he added.
However, Omkarnath Upadhyay denied the allegations, stating that the argument was about a parking issue and no casteist language was used. He claimed to possess video evidence to prove their innocence and said they would cooperate with the police.
The trio has been booked under relevant provisions of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Courtesy : Maktoob Media
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