NEW DELHI: A Dalit youth was allegedly beaten and humiliated by four men in Katni district, Madhya Pradesh, after he spoke out against illegal mining, police said on Thursday.The incident took place on Tuesday in Matwara village, about 45 kilometers from the district headquarters under the jurisdiction of Bahoriband police station.Victim Rajkumar Chaudhary alleged, “Pawan Pandey, who is also the son of the village sarpanch, urinated on me, called me casteist slurs and threatened to kill me if I approached the police,” as quoted by PTI.The attack was said to have followed a dispute over the sarpanch’s decision to fill gravel in the gram panchayat. Chaudhary alleged that the accused were carrying out illegal mining near his farm, which he had opposed.Additional Commissioner of Police Santosh Deharia said, “Ramanuj Pandey, Ram Bihari Pandey, Pawan Pandey and Satish Pandey allegedly attacked and insulted Rajkumar Chaudhary.” All five are residents of Matwara village. A case was registered today under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The four are on the run and attempts are being made to catch them.The incident mirrors a similar case in Sidhi district in 2023, about 200 kilometers from Katni, where a tribal youth was also urinated on. The case had attracted national attention and became a major issue in parliamentary polls later that year.
