Dalits fined for fighting for water with Muslims in Bikaner
Guddi Vyas, Hindustan Times
Bikaner, October 15, 2010First Published: 22:44 IST(15/10/2010)
Last Updated: 22:46 IST(15/10/2010)
The upper castes, it seems, are not the only ones who discriminate
against Dalits. Three Dalit men in Rajasthan were fined R15,000 each
by their Muslim sarpanch (village headman) for drinking water from a
public tap on Wednesday evening in Randhisar village, 90 km from
Bikaner town in the northwestern part of the state. The trio, Beer
Balram Meghwal, Sattu Ram and Nandu Ram, has lodged a police
complaint.
"We were drinking water from the public tap used by our Meghwal
caste," Beer Balram said. "Gheesu Khan (another villager) was filling
his pots nearby. Some water splashed on to his pots and he started
fighting with us. He then called the sarpanch, Gope Khan, who fined us
R15,000 each."
When the Dalit community protested, some members were allegedly
roughed up by Gheesu Khan and his cohorts. There are around 200
families in the village from the Rajput, Muslim and Meghwal
communities.
Police have been deployed in the village to defuse tension. Bikaner
Superintendent of Police Habib Gouran said cases had been filed
against Gheesu Khan, Khanu Khan, Ramne Khan and Ghulam Khan.
"It is unfortunate that 63 years after Independence we are have not
been able to bring about equality in society," Bikaner MP Arjun Ram
Meghwal of the BJP said. "The sarpanch should be punished. I will
raise this issue in Parliament."
Despite several attempts to contact him, the sarpanch could not be
reached by Hindustan Times.
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