Two Dalit labourers from Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh allegedly suffered brutal attacks and abuse on December 31, 2020 by a mob of upper caste people for honking at an upper caste person standing in the middle of the road, said Junputh regional news on January 5, 2021.

This happened in the same state where months ago the Hathras incident occurred and took the entire country by storm.

As per the account of one of the survivors, Brijesh Kumar, the labourer was allegedly attacked Kumar with knives and sticks by an upper caste man along with 20-25 people while irrigating the field. Locals who heard noises rushed to save Kumar and the other labourer Pampravesh.

उत्तर प्रदेश, जिला आजमगढ़ में एक SC व्यक्ति ने साइड के लिए हॉर्न बजाया तो इससे ब्राह्मण विशाल मिश्रा का जातीय गुमान आहत हो गया।

उसने अपने गुंडों के साथ पीड़ित पर धारदार हमला किया। पुलिस ने अभी तक एक भी गिरफ्तारी नहीं की। गांव में डर का माहौल बना हुआ है। pic.twitter.com/N9LoUlQkKI

— Suraj Kumar Bauddh (@SurajKrBauddh) January 5, 2021

Kumar said that the attack was the result of an altercation between the two men and local upper caste man Vishal Mishra. The two men honked at Mishra who stood in the middle of the road, blocking their way to the village market to buy diesel. Mishra responded to the honking by abusing them with casteist slurs that resulted in a verbal fight.

Local political group Rihai Manch heard about the incident and promised to help the injured man fight for justice. An FIR was lodged at the nearby police station.

Meanwhile, the labourers’ families told Junputh that criminals had attacked their boys with the intention of murder. They said that the accused are still roaming free and threatening to kill the two men.

“The police of Yogi-government gave us a piece of paper instead of justice. No one has been arrested yet. Dalits survive deadly attacks every day and in this corrupt government, we are not safe at all. Today many days after the attack, no criminal was arrested. Is there an understanding between police and criminals?” they said to Junputh.

Villagers said that the bullies circle the area on motorcycles from morning till evening to threaten villages who continue to demand justice.

Rihai Manch General Secretary Rajiv Yadav said that Dalits, minorities and women suffer tortures in the Yogi government. The state police are unable to stop them. However, he said that the group will continue to demand justice at every level.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against Scheduled Castes in 2019, reporting 11,829 cases in the National Crime Records Bureau report.

Related:

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A 2020 Report of 10 Worst Victims of apathy: Dalits, Adivasis
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Gujarat: Dalit lawyer dies after being assaulted in a casteist attack

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A Dalit family, including a pregnant woman, was assaulted in Banaskantha district’s Amirgadh on Saturday for refusing to remove the carcass of a cow. Six persons have been arrested for the alleged assault.

The accused belonged to the dominant upper caste community in Mota Karja village. Banaskantha SP Niraj Badgujar, who visited the village, told the Indian Express that the victims have been admitted to the civil hospital and provided police protection.

According to reports, the accused asked the family to take away the carcass on Friday night, but the victims said they would dispose it the next morning.

Following the refusal, the accused entered the house of the Dalits and assaulted them. The pregnant woman was hit on the abdomen.

Describing the incident, the FIR stated that “the accused… entered the home (of the victims) and while asking why they were not disposing of the dead cow, uttered casteist remarks, beat them with wooden sticks and assaulted them physically while threatening to kill them”.

“We lodged the FIR immediately after the victims approached police and arrested the six accused. We have booked the accused under section 315 of the Indian Penal Code (act done with intent to prevent child being born alive) along with other sections and under the Atrocity Act,” said SP Badgujar.

The FIR identified the accused as Natvarsinh Chauhan, Maknusinh Chauhan, Narendrasinh Chauhan, Yogisinh Chauhan, Babarsinh Chauhan and Dilgarsinh Chauhan.
 

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