Dalit man beaten to death, mother stripped in Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI: A Dalit man was brutally murdered in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district after an argument broke out between him and the accused over withdrawal of a sexual harassment case filed by the victim’s sister in 2019.

The victim, 18-year-old Nitin Ahirwar, was beaten to death after he refused to withdraw a sexual harassment case lodged by his sister. The accused had been pressuring the victim’s sister to withdraw her complaint.

The accused, Vikram Singh Thakur, first vandalised the victim’s house and then murdered him. When the victim’s mother arrived to intervene, they stripped her naked.
Some of the accused, including the village head’s husband, are at large.

A murder case has been registered against nine accused who have been named and three-four unidentified persons. Police have formed teams to nab the absconding suspects.

According to the Additional SP Sanjeev Uike, “A case has been filed against nine individuals, including the main accused under Section 307. After the death of the victim at the hospital, Section 302 and the SC/ST Act were also applied.”

According to the victim’s sister, the accused, including Komal Singh, Vikram Singh and Azaad Singh came to her house and persuaded them to withdraw the sexual harassment case. However, when the victim’s mother refused, they threatened her and vandalised her house.

“They left the house and met Nitin near the bus stand in the village and started thrashing him. When my mother went there to intervene, they beat her up too and stripped her. I pleaded with them to leave them.

However, they threatened to rape me. I ran into a jungle and called the police for help,” the victim’s sister revealed.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the incident and said that the incident reflects “the dual character of the BJP and its government”.