Five held for lynching Rajasthan Dalit man, political row heats up
Why is the Cong high command silent? Will CMs of Chhattisgarh and Punjab go there and give ₹50-50 lakh to victim’s family? MAYAWATI, BSP chief
JAIPUR: Police on Sunday arrested four people and detained one minor in connection with the lynching of a Dalit man in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district.
The incident took place on October 7 in the Prempura area of Hanumangarh, where the accused beat Jagdish Meghwal to death, allegedly because of his relationship with a woman. The accused also shot a video of the beating in which they are seen giving water to the victim to drink and then thrashing him repeatedly with sticks.
Meghwal had gone to meet the woman at her rented lodging in Suratgarh, where she was living after being separated from her husband, news agency PTI reported.
Suspecting them of being in a relationship, the woman’s husband and 10 others abducted Meghwal from Suratgarh and took him to a farmhouse where they beat him to death, PTI reported. They later dumped Meghwal’s outside his home.
Police have identified those arrested as Mukesh Kumar Ode, Dilip Kumar, Sikandar and Hansraj.
The district collector of Hanumangarh has announced a compensation of ₹4.12 lakh for the victim’s family, director general of police ML Lather said.
The incident triggered a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the Opposition, with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the state government of inaction.
“Why is the Congress high command silent? Will the chief ministers of Chhattisgarh and Punjab go there and give ₹50-50 lakh to the victim’s family? BSP wants answers or else stop shedding crocodile tears in the name of Dalits,” BSP chief Mayawati said in a Twitter post.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, too, hit out at the state government. “It is unfortunate that the head of the state is only trying to save his chair, while there are continuous atrocities on the poor, farmers, women and Dalits in the state.”
The ruling Congress, however, refuted the allegations. “Acting swiftly, the police have arrested five accused, and the rest will also be arrested speedily,” said state Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma.