Dalit man killed for touching food plates of upper caste men in MP’s Chhattarpur

Touching the food plates of upper caste men during a party cost a 25-year-old Dalit man his life in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhattarpur district on Tuesday evening.

The incident occurred nearly 450-km away from the state capital and close to the Uttar Pradesh border on Tuesday evening.

Devraj Anuraji, a farm labourer and resident of Kishanpur village, who belonged to the Schedule Caste community of Kori was beaten to death by his two upper caste friends -- Apurva Soni and Santosh Pal – after he touched a plate full of food, the police said.

Devraj was beaten up with sticks until he began to bleed. When he fainted, the duo dropped him at his home claiming that he had got injured. He succumbed to his injuries around 7 pm.

The Gaurihar police booked both the accused, who are absconding, on charges of murder and atrocities against Dalits.

“The deceased and both the accused hail from the same village. They killed Devraj for touching the food plates of their friends during the party,” said town inspector of Gaurihar police station, Jaswant Singh Rajput.

They were booked under section 302, 34 and other relevant sections of the IPC and police are conducting raids to arrest them, Rajput added.

“The police is looking for the accused and soon they will be behind bars,” said ASP Chhattarpur, Sameer Sourabh, adding that as per the provisions of SC/ST Atrocities Act-1989, the victim’s family will be given Rs 8.25 lakh and other benefits.

Crime against Dalits is nothing new in Madhya Pradesh. Just a fortnight ago, a 50-year-old Dalit, Laljiram Ahirwar, resident of Karodh village of Guna district, was beaten to death by two men for allegedly denying them a matchbox to light their cigarettes.

In July, Shivpuri police registered a case against seven upper caste men for reportedly assaulting five Dalit men over a land dispute in the district.