Dalits staged a dharna in front of the Patkura police station on Sunday demanding registering of a Dalit atrocity case against upper caste people of Bhagabanpur village on their FIR. About 50 Dalits, including women, joined the dharna.
A month back, tension had erupted between the Dalits and upper-caste villagers over the lease of a gram panchayat pond under the Korua police outpost. Upper caste villager Kamalakanta Swain had taken lease of the pond and his lease period was scheduled to end on July 30. But meanwhile, the GPO allegedly provided fresh lease to a Dalit person. Swain opposed the move and the GPO cancelled the lease in favour of the Dalit
and informed that the Dalit would take the pond lease on August 1.
However, the Dalits forcibly caught fish from the pond, which led to tension between the Dalits and upper caste people. The Dalits even threatened Swain and his supporters of dire consequences. On an FIR by Swain, the police arrested a Dalit forwarded him to court.
The Dalit, after returning from jail on bail, lodged an FIR against upper caste villagers at the Korua police outpost under the Patkura police station. But the police did not
take any action against the upper caste persons nor did the police register a case on the Dalit’s FIR.
When contacted, IIC of Patkura police station Nilakantha Patra stated that the Dalits withdrew their agitation after he assured them to look into their FIR and would register a case after conducting an inquiry.