New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday condemned the death of a Dalit youth in police custody at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and said it is not possible without the support of the government there. He claimed that the Congress will not tolerate "shameful and highly condemnable" incidents. The party will continue to fight for the rights of "Bahujans" and get justice for them.
"On one hand, a Dalit youth was killed in police custody in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, tribal women were tied to trees and beaten in Balasore, Odisha," he claimed in a post in Hindi on X. "Both these incidents are sad, shameful and highly condemnable. Due to the Manuvadi thinking of the BJP, such incidents are happening one after another in the states ruled by them - this is not possible without the support of the government," Gandhi said.
"Such barbarism against the Bahujans of the country will not be tolerated at any cost. We are with them, we will fight with full force for their constitutional rights and to get them justice," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said in his post. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also alleged that the "insult of Babasaheb Ambedkar and oppression on weaker sections is the basic mantra of BJP's rule".
The death of a Dalit youth in police custody in Dewas is extremely serious, she noted. "The family alleges that the youth died due to police brutality. Earlier, there was news of atrocities on Dalit families and the death of a Dalit youth in police custody from Parbhani, Maharashtra. "It seems that under the BJP rule, the police have got a free hand to oppress the weaker sections like Dalits, Adivasis and the deprived," Vadra claimed.
The death of the 35-year-old Dalit man inside a police station triggered protests from his kin who alleged murder. The opposition Congress in the state has slammed the Mohan Yadav-led BJP government for "jungle raj" in the state. Mukesh Longre died on Saturday after being called to Satwas police station here for questioning in a complaint submitted against him by a woman on December 26, Superintendent of Police Puneet Gehlot said.
The police said a judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) is conducting an inquiry into the death. They claimed that the inspector of the concerned police station has been suspended.
