An 18-month-old Dalit girl died allegedly due to police baton-charge in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district on Tuesday, reported The Quint. The alleged incident took place during a protest against the construction of a culvert in Ramnagar Gadhai village.
Two sub-inspectors have been booked on charges of murder, according to PTI. The toddler’s father, Ashok Jatav, registered a case against sub-inspectors Ajay Mishra and Jagdiesh Rawat under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, said Karera police station in charge Amit Singh Bhadoria.
In the first information report, the father alleged that his wife was holding their child when the police personnel hit her on the head. Jatav claimed that the police had thrashed them after they opposed the laying of pipes for the construction of the culvert.
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Singh Chandel has confirmed the age of the deceased girl, reported The Free Press Journal. However, he did not ascertain the cause of her death, saying the matter was under investigation.
However, the police have denied resorting to baton-charge. According to police officer Bhadoria, the villagers had a dispute with the contractor over the laying of a pipe for the culvert.
He added that the villagers threw stones at them when they reached the spot to provide protection to the contractor. Three police personnel were injured in the incident.
After the incident, the villagers staged a blockade with the child’s body and demanded that a first information report be registered against the policemen. They called off their protest late Tuesday night.
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