BHOPAL/SAGAR: A Dalit youth was allegedly beaten to death and his mother stripped by a group of people for declining to withdraw a sexual harassment case lodged with the police in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh in 2019.
The attack on the Dalit family took place at Barodia Naungar village in the Khurai area of Sagar district on Thursday late night. A group of men led by prime accused Vikram Singh (28) stormed into the house of 20-year-old Nitin Ahirwar and tried to coerce and intimidate him to withdraw a complaint of sexual harassment lodged against Vikram and his kin for harassing Ahirwar's sister.
As Ahirwar stood his ground, the assailants attacked him with sticks and rods When his mother ran to his rescue, the assailants stripped her and beat her up. Her daughter too was beaten up.
The assailants then ransacked the house and fled.
After being stripped by the gang, Ahirwar’s mother said it was the local police who gave her a towel to wear later.
Nitin Ahirwar was rushed to the Bundelkhand Medical College where the doctors declared him brought dead.
Police have so far arrested nine men in connection with the Dalit man and the attack on his mother.
The opposition Congress and as well as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP) hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government over the incident, which took place on Thursday.
Talking to reporters, the deceased's sister alleged her brother was mercilessly beaten to death as some persons were pressuring her for a compromise in an old case of harassment.
Kharge in a post on X on Sunday morning said a Dalit youth was beaten to death in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh and the "goons" did not even spare his mother.
The prime minister, who is "pretending" to get Sant Ravidas temple built in Sagar, does not even speak on "Dalit and tribal oppression and injustice happening continuously in Madhya Pradesh," he claimed.
The Congress leader claimed the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh has the highest rate of crimes against Dalits, "three times the national average".
BSP chief Mayawati in a post on X also hit out at the BJP government over the incident.
MP Congress chief Kamal Nath also condemned the incident and demanded adequate compensation for the family of the deceased.
Asked about reactions of the opposition leaders on the Sagar incident, MP BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal told PTI that his party-led state government acted promptly in case of every crime occurring under its jurisdiction.
There is rule of law in Madhya Pradesh and action was promptly taken in this case also, he said.
"It is unfortunate that Kharge and his party leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra adopt a selective approach on crimes. They keep silent on atrocities against Dalits in Rajasthan. Do they consider them (such victims) Dalit in Rajasthan?" Agrawal asked.
The Congress governments don't even bother to take action in cases of Dalit atrocities in their respective states, he claimed.
(With inputs from PTI.)