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On the morning of May 24, 2020, the body of Banarasi Mushahar was found on the road near a village school in Koilaswa, in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh. On the other side of the road, his severely injured friend Ram Preet who had joined him last night, was discovered lying unconscious. They had left home together the previous night.
Village Pradhan Keshav Yadav called the police, who soon came to the conclusion that both the men had consumed Toddy (a local alcohol) which resulted in a brawl between the two in which Banarasi Mushahar got killed and Rampreet got injured.
However, Banarasi Mushahar’s family has refused to accept this theory and sought justice. They feel Ram Preet, who belongs to the Nat community, is being falsely implicated in the case and that the crime may have actually been committed by the village strongmen.
In this interview Mushahar’s widow Raj Mati Devi says that she has not got the chargesheet of the case, and does not know what is happening as she says police never bothered to come to her village and ask the family any questions about the case.
Other pieces by Vidya Bhushan Rawat:
Covid snatches another Ambedkarite: Charles Wesley Meesa no more!
U Sambasivarao: Tribute to a great Bahujan visionary
Tribute to Dr Vijayam
Sadanand Fulzale passes away at 93