Village head booked for alleged assault, casteist slur in Bihar’s Supaul

Pipra police station house officer Ranveer Rawat while confirming the first information report (FIR) said, “We have taken the allegations very seriously and are probing the matter”

Bihar’s Supaul police on Thursday booked Nirmali panchayat Pipra block Mukhiya (village chief) and his associates and initiated a probe after women from the Mahadalit community accused them of assault and molestation, officials said.

(Representative Photo)

Dozens of women belonging to the Mahadalit community thronged upon Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Pipra police station on Thursday and lodged a complaint against Nirmali panchayat Mukhiya Hainandan Mandal and eight of his associates accusing them of “brutal assault and molestation” besides hurling abuses against their castes at a meeting convened for the selection of sanitation supervisors, said officials.

“The women have accused Mukhiya and his supporters of assaulting and hurling casteist slur,” police said, adding, “We have registered their complaint under various sections, including SC/ST atrocities (Prevention) Act.”

Pipra police station house officer Ranveer Rawat while confirming the first information report (FIR) said, “We have taken the allegations very seriously and are probing the matter.”

Meanwhile, Mandal ruled out the allegations and accused the women of plotting a conspiracy against him.

“In the Aam Sabha convened to select sanitation supervisor under Lohiya Swachh Bihar campaign, some of the women started mounting undue pressure, and when we objected, they plotted a conspiracy to implicate us in a fabricated and false case.”

Mandal further demanded an impartial probe into the matter.