A village sarpanch allegedly assaulted a Dalit man for riding a two-wheeler close to his house in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district on June 21, PTI reported on Monday. The police said they are investigating after a video of Hemant Kurmi thrashing Dayaram Ahirwar surfaced on social media.
Deri Police Assistant Sub-Inspector Ramsevak Jha said Ahirwar claimed that Kurmi, his brothers and one of their neighbours beat him up. The police arrested Kurmi, his brothers Vinod Kurmi, Munnu Kurmi and Aniruddh Kurmi, and their neighbour Dinesh Yadav.
In his complaint, Ahirwar alleged that the accused warned him against riding his bike near Kurmi’s house again.
In April, a group of upper-caste villagers allegedly attacked a Dalit wedding procession in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan.
On June 22, Madhya Pradesh Police arrested four people for allegedly burning a 55-year-old Dalit farmer alive near Bhopal over a land dispute.
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