Dalit Man Killed for ‘Touching Idol’, Claim Family; UP Police Deny But File FIR Under SC/ST Act

New Delhi: A Dalit man was killed in Udha village of Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district on Friday with family members insisting he was attacked for touching an idol at a Durga puja pandal. And though the police have dismissed the claim that caste was a factor – they said this was merely a “social media rumour” – the FIR filed by Pratapgarh police under section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code also includes section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The incident, which occurred on September 30, appears to have first been tweeted by the Hindi news portal ‘Bolta Hindustan’, early on October 4. It was then retweeted by several others, including Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh.

In the video tweeted by Bolta Hindustan, the widow of Jagroop, the man purportedly killed, is heard saying that he went to a nearby house to see the Durga Puja there and was killed there. She names two men, “Munna” and “Sandeep.” The video also shows what appears to be Jagroop’s corpse.

In another video accessed by The Wire, a man who identifies himself as Jagroop’s son-in-law, says that as soon as Jagroop touched the feet of the idol, “blows rained on him until he was half dead.”

The son-in-law says in the video that Jagroop was brought home by his attackers. He then took Jagroop to Pratapgarh for treatment, but he died at home, the son-in-law adds.

In the video, he claims that the family has not received any help and that they are prepared to sit in a fast in demand of justice.

It is unclear when this video was shot. A copy of the FIR notes the complaint was lodged on October 2.

Police version

On October 4, Pratapgarh police released a video in which Additional Superintendent of Police, East Pratapgarh, Vidyasagar Mishra narrates police’s version of events.

He identifies the deceased as ‘Ram Jeevan’ and says he went to the house of Pankaj Dubey and Ram Sarobar Mishra to see an idol. “There, two men, Kuldeep and Sandeep, told him to give them a ride on a cycle. When he refused, Kuldeep and Sandeep beat him and eventually dropped him at home,” the ASP says, adding that he eventually died.

Mishra says that a team has been formed to arrest the accused and that an FIR has been lodged.

He said that the death was not spurred by the deceased touching the idol.

“A rumour has been spreading on social media that he was beaten because he touched the Durga idol, and then died. This is entirely false,” says Mishra, in the video.

Courtesy : Thewire

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