Bihar villagers blame Dalit killing on elections
Santosh Singh Posted online: Tue Nov 16 2010, 10:15 hrs
Gurhmiya (Vaishali) : Three days after Babulal Ram, a Scheduled Caste
man in his late 50s, was reportedly beaten to death by three
upper-caste men, villagers here are blaming the fresh incidents of
atrocity against Dalits on the Assembly elections.
According to reports, on November 12, Babulal was in his house when he
heard the cries of 10-year-old Ruban Ram, who was reportedly being
beaten up by three upper-caste men — Satendra Thakur, Sanjay Thakur
and Deepak Thakur — for going to the ghats which was "out of bounds"
for Scheduled Caste members.
Babulal, a daily wager, tried to intervene, but the trio reportedly
started beating him with wooden sticks. Baburam died half-an-hour
later. According to the post-mortem report, he died of head injuries.
Villagers said this was the third incident of atrocity against Dalits
in the last one month. Machhia Devi alleged that her 22-year-old son
Navin Ram was beaten up by upper caste Bhumihars and was undergoing
treatment at Sadar Hospital in Hajipur. Santlal Ram, 25, alleged he
was also beaten up about a fortnight back for refusing to accept Rs 50
as his daily wage.
Saying that the tension began in the run-up to the Assembly elections,
villagers added that the situation had worsened after polling was held
in the area on October 28.
"Upper-caste men have been trying to dictate our votes for a
particular candidate. How can we allow anyone to decide our votes?"
said Babulal's nephew, Mohan Ram.
Besides the three main accused, Sanjay Tiwari, chief of Gurhmiya
Primary Agriculture Cooperative Credit Society (PACCS), is also among
the 31 upper-caste men who have been named in the FIR. Villagers say
that Tiwari, a Bhumihar, provoked the incident.
Some claimed that Tiwari is a "close associate of JD-U Lalganj MLA
Vijay alias Munna Shukla, who had fielded his wife, Anu Shukla, as the
party's candidate for the seat.
But Lalganj Circle Inspector Uday Pratap Singh said: "The FIR has no
direct or indirect reference to Munna Shukla. We have already arrested
main accused Satendra and Deepak, and are trying to track Sanjay
Tiwari".
Twenty-seven Dalits, who allegedly torched portions of houses
belonging to some upper-caste members on November 13, were also
booked. Two of them have been arrested.
The upper caste Bhumihar-dominated Gurhmiya village, under Lalganj
Assembly segment, has about 20 families of Scheduled Caste Rams and 40
families of Paswans. The incident, which occurred just before the last
phase of polling is scheduled to be held on November 20, assumes
significance as the Mahadalits are seen as Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar's new constituency.
Meanwhile, Babulal's daughter-in-law, Anita, has been left to fend for
her family of five as her husband, Bhola, is differently abled. She
said that Babulal had no personal enmity with upper-caste villagers.
"Most of us earn our bread by working in the fields of upper caste
people," she said.
Though they have BPL cards, she said that they don't get enough ration.
Babulal's nephew, Mohan Ram, said though they were happy with the
Nitish government, they were yet to avail of most of the benefits
meant for Scheduled Castes.
"Only 30 per cent of the village children go to school, which is
located in the area where the upper caste people live. Our women often
have to bear their taunts," said Chandan Ram, a villager, adding that
police deployment would provide them only temporary relief.
Meanwhile, the Vaishali district administration sought to defuse the
tension with deployment of 100 armed forces from the Bihar Military
Police and state police in and around the village.
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