A Dalit teenager who dared to ask for ration was shot dead in broad daylight in Bilhari village in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. His brother, Ashish, who had accompanied him, was also injured.
On June 9, nineteen-year-old Pankaj Prajapati questioned the ration shopkeeper and prime accused, Ramsevak Arjaria, over irregularities in distribution. He demanded to know why the ration was delayed for three months.
Arjaria, along with Praveen alias Kattu Pateria and Naveen Pateria, started hurling casteist slurs at the Dalit brothers. The ration shopkeeper shot Pankaj and Ashish.
Both brothers were rushed to the Gwalior hospital, but Pankaj died during treatment. Ashish has been discharged. The following day, angry villagers reached the hospital and refused to accept Pankaj’s body.
Initially, the police hesitated to register a complaint. After that, they named just one person in the FIR. When villagers came to know about it, they intensified their protest, and after nearly five hours, all three accused were named.
Police have registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Arms Act and relevant sections 115(2) (Voluntarily causing hurt), 109( 1) (attempt to murder), 3(5) (general explanation) of the BNS.
Currently, the three accused are on the run. A special team has been formed to nab the accused.
The incident was flagged by senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. In an X post on June 9, he took a dig at the Modi-led Union government’s latest flex of completing 11 years.
“FIR was not registered, post-mortem was postponed – because the guilty leader is sitting in the lap of power and the power belongs to the Manuwadi and anti-Bahujan BJP. The 11 years of the Modi government have been full of humiliation, violence and discrimination against Dalits, Adivasis, backwards classes and minorities. The conspiracy to institutionally make them second-class citizens and keep them away from the mainstream is continuing,” his X post read.
On Tuesday, June 10, the Chhatarpur district administration announced a compensation of Rs 4,12,500/- for Pankaj’s family.
