Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur and his parents have been booked for assaulting a Dalit family in the Ramnagar Shah Nala locality of the city.
Amit Dwivedi, his parents, and other family members were booked under the SC/ST Act after a viral video surfaced showing them assaulting the Dalit family on Monday night, Tilwara police station in-charge Brijesh Mishra was cited by media reports as saying.
Reports said an altercation between both sides began when Dwivedi objected to the Dalit family constructing a bathroom outside their home. The Dalit family, residents of leased land for over three decades, claimed they were improving their living conditions when Dwivedi, accompanied by his parents and others, confronted them.
According to Anil and Varsha Jharia, members of the Dalit family, the confrontation turned violent when Dwivedi and his associates allegedly tried to forcefully remove their children. When the family resisted, the BJP leader and his group reportedly attacked them with shoes and sandals, dragged a woman by her hair, and hurled casteist slurs.
Initially, a case was registered against the Dalit family based on a complaint by Dwivedi. However, after the assault video went viral, the family approached the Superintendent of Police (SP) office seeking justice.
The FIR against Dwivedi and his parents under the SC/ST Act is based on a report filed by the victims. The complaint also alleges death threats from the accused, forcing the family to move to a relative’s house for safety.
“The investigation is ongoing, and appropriate action will be taken against the culprits,” Mishra was quoted as saying.
