Twenty-one thatched homes belonging to members of the Ravidas and Manjhi Scheduled Castes were torched in Bihar’s Nawada district on Wednesday in an alleged land grab attempt, reported The Indian Express.
The police have arrested 15 persons in connection with the arson, reported PTI. One of the persons arrested, who is also a member of the Scheduled Caste community, had allegedly threatened the residents to vacate the land.
The arson occurred in the Krishna Nagar Mahadalit settlement in the jurisdiction of the Muffasil Police Station at around 6.45 pm.
Nawada District Magistrate Ashutosh Kumar Verma told PTI that a Special Investigation Team had been formed to investigate the matter.
According to The Indian Express, the fire spread to around 80 other Dalit homes but no casualties were reported.
Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control by 11 pm.
The district administration was reportedly arranging shelter for those whose homes were destroyed.
The Krishna Nagar Mahadalit settlement is home to about 400 persons, almost all of whom work as daily wage earners, according to The Indian Express. The settlement is estimated to be between 70 and 80 years old.
The term ‘Mahadalit’ was coined by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government in 2007 as an umbrella term for 20 Scheduled Castes that constitute the poorest group of Dalits in Bihar. It is not a constitutional term.
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