Image courtesy: Times of India
Manoj Kumar, a Dalit man who had borrowed money from an “upper caste” man, had been missing for two days before his body was finally recovered this weekend. The 33-year-old hailed from Bajera village in Mainpuri district, and police now suspect a land grab to be the motive for murder.
Times of India reports that Kumar’s family says that though the loan amount was Rs 1 lakh, the lender demanded Rs 11 lakh as repayment, that included land owned by Kumar. He had been under a lot of stress due to the repayment demand and his wife Puja told the publication, “He got a call at around 8:30 pm on Thursday evening and went out. He told me he’ll be back in a bit. When he didn’t return, we started searching for him.”
On Friday, the family filed a report against four men who had threatened to kill him. The accused have been identified as Shivendra Singh alias Monu Thakur, Vishnu Thakur, Atul Thakur and Sudeep Kumar. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed on Friday under sections 384 (extortion), 364 (kidnapping or abduction for murder), section 3 (2) (v) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
On Saturday, Kumar’s body was recovered from near the village. Puja said, “My husband was shot multiple times in the head. His face was crushed.” She alleged, “The lender, along with his three associates, murdered him.”
While the accused are yet to be arrested, section 302 (murder) will also be added to the FIR.
Meanwhile, this isn’t the first death in the family related to a land grab attempt. According to Kumar’s brother Satish, another brother of his was killed under similar circumstances in 2015. Satish fears for their family’s wellbeing and said, “Upper caste men from the village want to grab our land. The life of my entire family is in danger. We have to leave the village.”
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