E-Paper
Four Dalit men beaten up on suspicion of theft in MP
Accused arrested, booked under relevant sections of IPC, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
Four Dalit men were allegedly kept in illegal confinement and beaten up in a village in Agar-Malwa district, 200 km west of Bhopal, by four villagers on suspicion of involvement in a theft. The incident occurred on Monday and the accused were arrested the next day, said police.
The victims were identified as Girdhari Malviya, Bheru Malviya, Radheshyam Malviya and Ghanshyam Malviya, all residents of Kajlas village of the district. They were admitted to the district hospital in Aagar Malwa and their condition was stated to be stable.
The accused, Suraj Yadav, Bagdu Yadav, Sanju Yadav and Lal Singh Yadav, residents of the same village, were arrested under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (punishment for using obscene language), 506 (criminal intimidation), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also under relevant sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Agar Malwa additional superintendent of police Kamal Maurya said, “A few days ago, an irrigation motor pump was allegedly stolen from the field of Suraj Yadav who suspected Girdhari and the other three of having committed the crime. Suraj called Girdhari, Bheru, Radheshyam and Ghanshyam late on Monday to one of his relative’s residence in the same village. Once there, the four men were kept inside a room and beaten up all through the night.”
“In the morning, they let Bheru, Radheshyam and Ghanshyam go after threatening them against reporting to the police. However, Girdhari was allegedly assaulted again and forced to confess to the crime. He was later thrown outside the village in a semi-conscious state,” said Maurya.
Members of the victims’ families informed the police who are interrogating the accused and will produce them before the court.
Recently, a Dalit couple was beaten up by police and another couple from the same family allegedly consumed poison during the administration’s anti-encroachment drive in Guna district of the state.
