The incident of 14 December in Mirkan village of Hisar district of Haryana. The victim’s family, sitting on a dharna outside Hisar Civil Hospital, alleges that around 17 upper caste Jat people thrashed a Dalit youth for stealing a pump. The family has also raised questions on the police investigation.
Victims’ families protest outside Hisar Civil Hospital. (Photo: The Wire)
Hisar: On December 14, a 40-year-old Dalit man was allegedly lynched by 17 people in Mirkan village of Haryana’s Hisar district, while two of his cousins were seriously injured in the violence.
The accused from the Jat community had allegedly accused the victim of stealing a water pump.
The deceased has been identified as Vinod Singh. His cousin brothers- Sandeep and Bhal Singh are being treated at the hospital. Bhal Singh’s condition remains critical.
Vinod’s wife Suman the wire ‘When he returned home from work, some ‘upper caste’ Jat people came to his house and took him with them on the pretext of getting work.
Holding her one-year-old newborn child in her hands amid the cold, Suman is on dharna outside the Civil Hospital in Hisar. The victim’s family has been sitting here on a continuous dharna for more than ten days.
Suman said, ‘He was called on the pretext of working in a wheat field. We did not know that he would not return. We are in deep trouble here for many days.
The family of the deceased has refused to accept the dead body till the arrest of the accused.
Suman says, ‘I have a one-year-old son and there is no one here for him and for me. I am on my own.
There are 25 to 30 families in Mirkan village. The upper caste Jat people have political, social and economic dominance in the region.
Vinod’s sister Manju while talking to The Wire said, ‘We have not eaten anything for many days. There are total 12 people in our family. He was the only person running the house. We have been sitting here on dharna for almost ten days.
He said, ‘We are not satisfied with what the police is doing. First, he told us that he had arrested six people, then he said something else. They have left us here to rot.
Manju said, ‘This (attack) has happened because of our caste. We are poor, economically backward and are struggling with it. Jats can give money to the police and influence the investigation if they want.
At the same time, the police did not give any information about the details of the investigation and also did not disclose the names of those arrested.
Suman says, ‘The police claim that they have arrested some people, but we were not given any information about their names and their status. 17 people are responsible for my husband’s death. I am constantly sick. Many people in the house depended on Vinod, he was the only person running the house.
Vinod’s family has demanded the arrest of all the 17 accused in the incident and demanded a government job and a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to his wife.
He has also demanded Rs 25 lakh and government job for every person injured in the incident. According to information received by The Wire, a compensation of Rs 4 lakh has been given to the victim’s family and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.
Lawyer Somdutt Sharma says, “This is not an isolated case, it is a daily reality of atrocities on Dalits in the region. The police is aware of who the accused are and yet they were allowed to go. This is the main reason why the family and the community have been forced to protest.
He further said, ‘Dalits have been socially boycotted in Jind. In Fatehabad, the hands of a Dalit youth were chopped off after drinking water from an upper caste well. Those who carried out this lynching are being let go.
Investigating officer Narayan Chand told The Wire on allegations of unjustified investigation of the case by the police, “We have arrested six people so far and we are trying our best to arrest all the named people.” We are not going to spare anyone in this matter. Those who are hiding will not be able to run very far.
(Click here to read this report in English.)
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