The victim was left injured on the roadside after which a few villagers took him to the community health centre at Bochahan for treatment
Team Clarion
PATNA – A father-son duo assaulted a Dalit labourer, spat on his face, and urinated on him in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district for showing temerity to demand wages for the work done at a poultry farm.
The incident took place on October 4 when Rinku Manjhi approached Ramesh Patel, the owner of the farm, to request payment for two days of labour, media reports said on Saturday.
According to Rinku’s complaint, his wage demand enraged Ramesh Patel. The latter along with his brother Arun Patel and son Gaurav Kumar not only physically assaulted Rinku but also spat on his face and urinated on him.
Rinku documented the incident by sharing a video with the police as evidence, leading to his formal complaint filed on October 8. Following this, authorities registered a case against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the SC/ST Act, and an investigation was initiated.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) in Muzaffarpur, Vidha Sagar, said the daily wage worker was abused with casteist slurs by Ramesh Patel. “The incident occurred when Rinku demanded his wages for the work he had completed,” he said adding that the accused had been identified through the video evidence and that they would be arrested as part of the investigation.
The victim, who hails from the Musahar (rat eater) caste, considered Mahadalit or the most downtrodden among the Scheduled Castes, had worked to build Ramesh Patel’s poultry farm at Karanpur Uttari village under Bochahan block for several days last month.
“Towards the end of the work, Ramesh withheld my two-day wages equal to ₹ 1,200. I switched to some other work elsewhere. I was cycling to work at around 8 am on October 4 and saw him sitting at his poultry farm and demanded my pending wages. The Durga Puja had started and I needed money,” Manjhi told the police in his complaint.
“Ramesh flared up and started hurling expletives at me. He, his son Gaurav Patel and others started beating me when I told him not to use abusive language. I was hurt and fell to the ground after which he (Ramesh) spat on my face. His son urinated on my face,” Manjhi added.
The victim was left injured on the roadside after which a few villagers took him to the community health centre at Bochahan for treatment. He recuperated for a few days at his home before mustering the courage to approach the police. The viral video also provided an impetus.
Earlier, in another case in Muzaffarpur, two Dalit men were badly beaten and urinated upon by some men for stealing a motorcycle. The incident occurred when the victims were on their way to attend a rural fair. An FIR was filed against the accused following the incident. These incidents highlight the ongoing issues of caste-based discrimination and violence faced by Dalit communities in the country.
