Dalit Man Urinated Upon In Madhya Pradesh For Opposing Illegal Mining

A Dalit man was brutally assaulted and allegedly urinated upon in Madhya Pradesh's Katni district after he protested against illegal mining on government land. 

The incident has triggered outrage over recurring caste-based violence in the state's rural heartland.

According to the complaint submitted to the Katni Superintendent of Police, the victim, 36-years-old Rajkumar Chaudhary, stated that on the evening of October 13, he objected to the illegal excavation of gravel from the Ramgarha hill near his farmland. The activity was allegedly being carried out under the supervision of the village Sarpanch, Ramanuj Pandey, and his associates.

When Chaudhary raised his voice, he was allegedly abused and attacked. "They hurled casteist slurs, threatened to kill me, and later ambushed me on my way home," he said. 

Near the village's Muktidham area, Sarpanch Ramanuj Pandey, his son Pawan Pandey, nephew Satish Pandey, and others allegedly stopped him, assaulted him with rods and sticks, and subjected him to a degrading act of humiliation. "When my mother tried to save me, she was dragged by her hair and beaten. His son urinated on me. I was humiliated in front of everyone," Chaudhary said.

The police have registered a case under sections of assault and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against four named accused. "The complainant came to us after treatment. A detailed investigation is underway," said ASP Santosh Deharia.

However, the Sarpanch has denied all allegations, calling them politically motivated. "No illegal mining was happening. We were renovating the Panchayat building and needed gravel for that. The claims are false and aimed at defaming me," said Ramanuj Pandey.

The chilling incident evokes memories of a similar incident from Sidhi in July 2023, where BJP-linked man Pravesh Shukla was caught on video urinating on a tribal man, an incident that had drawn nationwide condemnation.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2023 report, crimes against Scheduled Castes continue to rise, with 57,789 cases recorded across India last year up from 2022. Madhya Pradesh alone accounted for 8,232 such cases, placing it among the top three states in caste-related crimes after Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.