Dalit youth’s murder sparks political row in M.P.

The accused were trying to pressurise Dalit youth’s sister to withdraw a sexual harassment case; BJP Minister allegedly seen with the accused in social media images says the incident was unfortunate, but not an atrocity

A Dalit youth was beaten to death with sticks and batons, and his mother was allegedly stripped and assaulted, by a group of men in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district this past week. The accused were pressurising the victims’ family to withdraw a four-year-old police sexual harassment case filed by the sister of the murdered youth, the family said.

The murder and sexual assault, which took place in a district with a significant Dalit population, have sparked a backlash from Opposition parties. The Congress accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of making Madhya Pradesh “a laboratory of atrocities on Dalits”, and shared images posted on social media allegedly showing the accused posing with a senior Minister of the BJP government in the State.

Fatal assault

The woman who was assaulted said that she had seen a group of men, led by prime accused Vikram Singh, 28, attacking her son on August 24. When she tried to help her son, she herself was attacked and the group of men tried to disrobe her, she said.

Her son was subsequently rushed to the Bundelkhand Medical College in Sagar district, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Regarding the earlier case, the dead youth’s brother told journalists that it was a case of sexual harassment, adding that the accused had threatened to murder the victim if the family did not reach a compromise and withdraw the complaint. 

‘Laboratory of Dalit atrocities’

The Congress reacted sharply to the incident. “A Dalit youth was beaten to death in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. The goons did not even spare his mother,” Mr. Kharge posted on X (formerly Twitter). “The Prime Minister, who is pretending to build Sant Ravidas temple in Sagar, does not even break his silence on Dalit and tribal oppression and injustice happening continuously in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh tries to hide his crime by washing the feet of the underprivileged only in front of the camera... But the BJP has made Madhya Pradesh a laboratory of Dalit atrocities.” 

“BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh has the highest rate of crimes against Dalits, three times the national average. Mr. Modi, this time the people of Madhya Pradesh are not going to fall under the trap of BJP, you will get the answer to the agony of the deprived and exploited sections of the society after a few months. BJP’s departure is certain,” Mr. Kharge added.

Both the PM and Mr. Kharge had held separate public meetings in Sagar earlier this month, with Mr. Modi laying the foundation for the Sant Ravidas temple that the Congress chief referred to.  

Dalits in M.P. faced a “terrible scenario”, BSP president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said in an earlier post on X on Saturday.

‘BJP Minister seen with accused’

The Congress also shared some images posted on social media, which it claimed showed the accused posing with Bhupendra Singh, a senior minister of the M.P. government who hails from Sagar. The Minister responded that being an MLA from the area, he met different people. “This should not be given a political colour. The Congress is trying to spread poison in the society which is not right,” he said.

He added that while the incident was unfortunate, it could not be termed as an atrocity. “I want to say that this is a dispute between two sides which had been going on for some time. The matter was in the court and to view it in any other way is not appropriate,” he said.