In a deeply disturbing event, a Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district reportedly faced brutal assault and humiliation for speaking out against illegal mining. The incident, which took place in Matwara village, involved four assailants who allegedly beat the victim and urinated on him.
The victim, Rajkumar Chaudhary, stated that the accused, identified as Ramanuj Pandey, Ram Bihari Pandey, Pawan Pandey (the village sarpanch’s son), and Satish Pandey, confronted him after he objected to their illegal mining operations near his farm. Chaudhary further alleged that Pawan Pandey not only urinated on him but also subjected him to casteist slurs and threatened his life.
The police have registered a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Authorities have confirmed that the four accused are currently on the run, and efforts are underway to apprehend them. This incident echoes a similar, widely reported case from the Sidhi district in 2023, which had sparked significant public outcry.