An 18-year-old Dalit man committed suicide in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly after he faced social boycott by his villagers for killing his calf, The Indian Express reported on Monday. The police, who found Ramu’s body on a railway track on Saturday, suspect that he killed himself by jumping in front of a train.
Station House Officer of Itiyathok Police Station Ved Prakash Srivastava told the daily, “He [Ramu] had come to know that villagers had decided to socially boycott him for killing his pet calf.” The teen’s family has not filed a complaint in this regard, and they have yet to find a suicide note, he added.
Village Pradhan Usha Devi’s husband Balram Tiwari explained that in their Gopalpur Barandi village, it was part of their customs to make a person accused of killing a cow or a calf live alone outside the village for a year.
“Ramu had hit his pet calf with a hammer while taking the animal to the field for grazing. He had tied animal in the field and returned home. Around two hours later, Ramu came to know through locals that calf had died because of the thrashing...,” Tiwari said. At meetings organised after the calf’s death, the villagers decided to socially boycott the labourer till the panchayat made a decision, he added.
Cow protection and calls for a ban on the slaughter of the animal have come to the forefront of local and national politics over the last few years. Right-wing groups have been demanding a complete ban on cow slaughter and the transport of beef, with a growing number of reports of violence against those found transporting cattle.
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