Chhatarpur: An elderly Dalit sarpanch in Madhya Pradesh state of India was manhandled by an upper caste secretary of the gram panchayat on India’s Independence Day, the other day.
The sarpanch was “kicked by the secretary” because he unfurled the national flag on the insistence of the locals and did not wait for the secretary who arrived there late.
Hannu Basor, sarpanch of village Dhamchi in Chhatarpur, said that locals approached him, saying he should unfurl the national flag as the secretary Sunil Tiwari hadn’t not reached the village in the morning. The gram panchayat heeded the request and hoisted the flag at the panchayat building and the school.
Later, when Tiwari reached the village, he got furious after learning that the sarpanch did not wait for him and kicked him. “Secretary saab arrived and asked why you hoisted the flag and I replied that locals were insisting on it,” said the sarpanch, adding that the secretary kicked him and he fell on the ground only to be kicked some more.
When the sarpanch’s wife and daughter-in-law rushed to rescue him, the secretary beat them up as well and left on his four-wheeler, said the elderly man who lodged a complaint with Orachha Road police station later.
In another incident, a multi-storeyed building where the administration has shifted people from poor backgrounds of Ravji Bazaar and other areas, got into a scuffle after the flag hoisting on Sunday. SP Ashutosh Bagri said that the building has residents from different communities and when one community was hoisting flag the on Sunday, the use of some objectionable language by another community let to a fight and stone-pelting.
Police rushed to the scene and controlled the situation. They are now identifying the offenders from both sides with the help of videos of the incident. “We will post armed personnel permanently at the spot,” the SP added. Web Desk
