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Attack on Dalit couple: 6 police personnel suspended in Madhya Pradesh
The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday announced a high-level inquiry into the incident and transferred Guna collector S Vishwanathan, Nayak, and inspector general (Gwalior zone) Raja Babu Singh.
Six police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were suspended on Thursday for beating up a Dalit couple for resisting an anti-encroachment drive in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district on Tuesday. The couple also consumed pesticides in protest and are in hospital, where the district administration said they are out of danger. The incident provoked outrage after a video went viral.
“An ugly situation was created due to Rajkumar Ahirwar and his wife [Savitri] consuming pesticide during anti-encroachment drive initiated by the revenue department on July 14. Sub-inspector Ashok Singh Kushwah was sent to maintain law and order. However, a video went viral regarding the use of force by the police team. Hence, the police personnel who were present on the spot are being suspended given their suspected role in the use of force,” Guna police superintendent Tarun Nayak said in an order, a copy of which has been seen by HT.
Apart from Kushwah, the others suspended were Rajendra Sharma, Pawan Yadav, Narendra Rawat, Neetu Yadav, and Rani Raghuvanshi, , all constables at the Cantonment police station, Guna.
The police personnel also assaulted Ahirwar’s brother, Shishupal. Ahirwar’s mother, Geeta Bai, said they repeatedly requested the police team to let them stay until they harvested their crop. She said police did not listen to them, abused, and beat them.
The district administration says the four-acre land was earmarked for a government college and the state government released ₹12 crore to begin the building’s construction a year ago. But a local strongman, Babbu Pardi, encroached upon the land and rented it out to the Ahirwars for farming illegally. The Ahirwars say they took a loan of R3 lakh and paid Pardi to grow crops on the land.
The state government on Wednesday announced a high-level inquiry into the incident and transferred Guna collector S Vishwanathan, Nayak, and inspector general (Gwalior zone) Raja Babu Singh. Vishwanathan had earlier defended the police action, saying the local residents resisted the police’s anti-encroachment drive.
Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted: “The Guna SP and Collector have been removed, and inquiry has been sought into the incident. I am confident that action will be taken against all those who are responsible for this heinous act.” In a tweet on Wednesday, Scindia said: “Guna incident is unfortunate. I had a discussion with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and requested him to take action against insensitive and irresponsible officials. Taking a serious note of the incident the CM has ordered shifting of Guna collector and SP.”
The opposition Congress attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government as the video of the assault went viral on social media on Wednesday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted the video on Twitter and said: “Our fight is against this ideology and injustice.”
The Congress said a party delegation will visit Guna on Friday and submit a report on the incident to state party chief Kamal Nath. The delegation will gather facts about the incident, said Congress leader Chandraprabhash Shekhar. He added the delegation will include former minister Bala Bachchan.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati condemned the incident and demanded immediate action against the guilty. “Forcing a Dalit couple to attempt suicide by destroying their crops is extremely cruel and extremely shameful. The state government must take strict action against the guilty.”
State home minister Narottam Mishra said the law and order situation is fine in the state. “We immediately removed the IG, SP, and collector when we came to know about the incident. A high-level inquiry is going on. The state government will also provide all possible help to the family.”
(With input from Yogendra Lumba in Guna)
