Here’s why Dalit families are leaving their homes in Agra village

On June 14, a 32-year-old Dalit man, identified as Satendra Kumar, was brutally beaten and his genitalia was slashed by upper caste men for objecting to tree felling on his land.

Written By: Anurag Singh

Agra: At least four out of seven Dalit families fled from their houses in Hasanpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Agra due to the alleged attrocity on their community member by the upper caste men.

On June 14, a 32-year-old Dalit man, identified as Satendra Kumar, was brutally beaten and his genitalia was slashed by upper caste men for objecting to tree felling on his land.

According to a report of Times of India, the Dalit families have put their houses on sale and are moving out of the village.

“We were forced to leave our house. The upper caste men have been threatening us,” TOI quotes Suresh Kumar, a key witness of the attack on Satendra Kumar, as saying.

The witness further stated that there were 70 Dalit families in the village out of which 63 moved out in the last 10 years.

“After the recent incident, four out of seven Dalit families moved out of the village,” he added.

FIR filed after attack on Satendra Kumar

The Uttar Pradesh Police had on June 16 registered an FIR against two men, inlcuding Vikram Singh Thakur and Bhuray Thakur, under Sections 452, 353, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A senior police official stated that the initial probe has revealed that there is a conspiracy being hatched by some people to create tension in the village.

“The probe also revealed that the Dalit man’s complaint that his private part was slashed was wrong and no one has been forced to leave the village,” the police official added.

Last month, a Dalit groom was brutally beaten and forced to get off the horse during his wedding procession by some villagers in Agra’s Sohalla Jatav Basti.

Courtesy : News Nine

Note: This news piece was originally published in newsnine.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights