Lucknow: On Saturday, an 18-year-old Dalit boy named Ramu committed suicide in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh by jumping in front of a train. The reason behind the suicide is said to be a social boycott which Raju was facing after accidently killing a Calf.
Ramu, who was the resident of Gopalpur Barandi village, was a daily wage labourer whose boycott was announced by his villagers after he thrashed his pet calf few days back.
The case comes under Itiyathok police station whose SHO Vedprakash Srivastava recovered the body of Ramu on Saturday near the railway tracks. While commenting on the incident, SHO Srivastava said that it had came into the knowledge of Ramu that his fellow villagers had decided for boycotting him socially.
Ramu, who left no suicide note, is survived by his mother Cheirya Devi and three brothers.
The village Gopalpur Barandi has a majority of Brahmins, Bhumihars and few settlements form the backward castes. It is a custom in most of the north Indian villages is that the person accused of killing of cow or its progenies has to spend a whole year outside the village, living on his own. The villagers inform that if someone tries to talk to the boycotted man, that person will have to face the same consequence.
The village’s Pradhan Usha Devi’s husband Balram Tiwari spoke to the media and informed that Ramu beaten his calf with a hammer. The calf passed away couple of hours later. “Ramu came to know through the villagers that the calf died because of beating”, said Tiwari.
Tiwari said, “After a few meetings, the villagers decided to socially boycott Ramu until the Panchayat took any final decision on the matter.”
Courtesy: Two Circles