Dalit man's face, body smeared with human excreta in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh

The accused has been detained based on the complaint, a police official said on Saturday. Recently, the incident of a man urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of MP caused a huge outrage after the video surfaced on social media.

Chhatarpur:A Dalit man has alleged that his face and body were smeared with human excreta by a man from another caste after the former accidentally touched him with grease in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

The accused has been detained based on the complaint, a police official said on Saturday. Recently, the incident of a man urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of MP caused a huge outrage after the video surfaced on social media.

A case is being registered against the accused Ramkripal Patel, who belongs to an OBC community, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, in connection with the Chhatarpur incident, a police officer told PTI on Saturday evening.

The victim Dashrath Ahirwar approached the police on Saturday, he said. Ahirwar claimed the incident occurred when he was engaged in the construction of a drain for the Panchayat in Bikaura village, about 35 km from the Chhatarpur district headquarters, on Friday.

He said the accused, Ramkripal Patel, was bathing at a nearby hand pump. Ahirwar claimed he touched Patel with the grease he was using in the construction work by mistake. “After that, Patel brought human faeces lying nearby in a mug he was using for bathing and smeared it on my body including head and face,” he claimed while speaking to reporters near Maharajpur police station. He claimed Patel abused him on the caste line.

“I reported the matter to the panchayat and called for a meeting. Instead, the panchayat imposed a fine of Rs 600 on me on Friday,” Ahirwar alleged.

Queried why he didn't lodge a complaint with police on Friday, Ahirwar claimed he could not have abandoned the work midway.

"A case is being registered against Ramkripal Patel under sections 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act," Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Manmohan Singh Baghel said.

Baghel said when Ahirwar was working with others, they were joking with Patel who was bathing nearby. "They were hurling things at each other playfully when Ahirwar put grease on Patel's hand. Thereafter, Patel picked up human excreta with hand and threw it on Ahirwar's back," the police officer said.

Ahirwar approached the police on Saturday with a complaint, Baghel said. Queried on Ahirwar's claim on Panchayat, Baghel said he didn't have any information. Police said the accused and the victim are in the age group of 40 to 45. (PTI)