Bhim Army chief on way to meet Dalit boy’s family stopped by Rajasthan cops

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar said there was no reason why he should not be allowed to travel to Jalore to meet the Dalit boy’s family when politicians from the ruling and opposition parties were allowed

JAIPUR: Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar was stopped at Jodhpur airport on Wednesday and barred from going to Jalore on the ground that it may create a law and order problem, police said.

NBhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar was stopped by the police at Jodhpur airport after he landed in Rajasthan to travel to Jalore. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Chandra Shekhar was to meet the family of the Dalit student who died after being beaten by a teacher, allegedly for drinking water from a pot meant for people from the upper castes.

Deputy commissioner of police, Jodhpur, Amrita Duhan said, “We are asking him to postpone his visit to Jalore in order to maintain the law-and-order situation.”

Police officers familiar with the development said that Chandra Shekhar was insisting on visiting the Dalit family. His supporters have already gathered at Jalore.

As he was being taken away from the airport, Chandra Shekhar told reporters that there was no reason that he couldn’t meet the child’s family when people from government and opposition parties have. He said he will not return from Rajasthan till he meets the family. “The police are forcibly taking me away from the airport,” he said.

Indra Meghwal, a student of the private school, Saraswati Vidhya Mandir, in Surana village, was beaten up badly on July 20. He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad on August 13. The teacher involved, Chail Singh, 40, has been arrested and booked for murder under Section 302 of the IPC and under sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Police, which are conducting investigations into the case, said the initial version that the boy was beaten because he touched or drank from a water pot meant for the upper castes may not be accurate. His family, however, insisted that he died after being beaten by a teacher on seeing him drinking water from a pot meant for people from the upper caste.