Even as tension is brewing at Baddi village in Rohtas district following the murder of a Mahadalit over the dispute on unfurling Triolour at a disputed place, the district police authorities have decided to attach properties of members of an upper caste who are evading arrest after perpetrating violence against the weaker section on the Independence Day.
The district police are likely to move to a local court in Sasaram on Monday to seek permission from it for attaching the properties of 24 accused who are absconding after allegedly committing the crime against Mahadalits. In all, 35 people were made accused in the case and 11 of them had already been arrested.
A Mahadalit was stoned to death at Baddi village in Rohtas district on August 15 when he and other members of the lower caste were attacked by members of an upper caste in front of a temple of Sant Ravidas.
Mahadalits is a special category created by the Nitish Kumar Government comprising the poorest among Dalits. Mahadalits invited the wrath of the upper caste members when they tried to unfurl the Tricolour in front of a temple of Sant Ravidas at the village in defiance of a diktat issued by the latter. Upper caste men allegedly attacked children with rods and also threw few of them from the roof of the temple of Sant Ravidas.
The tension erupted at Baddi village nearly 15 days back when members of the upper caste decided to install a statue of freedom fighter Nishant Singh and unfurl the Tricolour on a small plot at the entrance of the Ravidas temple, where Mahadalits had been unfurling the national flag on August 15 for the last several years.
Out of total 40 villagers injured in the incident, nine of them were rushed to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) with serious injuries. Majority of the injured were old people, women and children.
Rest 31 villagers are undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital in Sasaram.
State Inspector General of Police (Weaker Section) Arvind Pandey said that `60,000 will be given to each seriously injured person as immediate relief. He said that each seriously injured person is entitled to get `1.20 lakh under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Similarly, a compensation of `5 lakh would be given to the family of the deceased Mahadalit.
Besides being slapped under various sections of IPC, perpetrators of violence have been also booked under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, he added. In view of the prevailing tension in the region, a permanent police camp would also be opened at the village.
The process is underway for the cancellation of licenses of 20 arms possessed by the upper caste members. None of the Mahadalit family is the owner of any firearm at the village but upper caste families are heavily armed with 100 arms licenses issued to them by the district administration till date.
It was not the first case of atrocity against Mahadalits as two Dalit boys were killed near Sone canal under Nasriganj police station in Rohtas district last month. There were marks of acid burn near their eyes too.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has intensified its attack against the Nitish Kumar Government following the recent incident of atrocity against Dalits in the State. leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly and senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav asked Kumar to clarify the State Government’s position on the Rohtas incident as two JD(U) MlAs are giving conflicting views on the attack on Mahadalits.
While one JD (U) MlA is speaking in favour of Mahadalits, other ruling party MlA is defending upper caste members, he added.
Yadav also accused the CM of trying to polarise the society on the caste lines to improve his party’s chances in elections. He alleged that the Chief Minister is trying to take mileage even from the attack on Mahadalit families in Rohtas district.
After visiting the village, State Congress president Ashok Choudhary said that the State Government has proved itself ineffective in protecting families of Mahadalit and Dalit families as number of crimes against them is constantly on the rise.
RJD MlA Bhai Dinesh also visited Baddi village to meet the affected families and held “administrative failure” responsible for the atrocities against Mahadalit families.