Congress demands the arrest of prime accused in the Dalit torture case in Ganjam
BHUBANESWAR : A fact-finding team led by leader of Congress Legislature PartyRam Chandra Kadam on Thursday demanded immediate arrest of the prime accused in the incident of torture of two dalits at a village of Ganjam district on June 22.
Addressing a media conference here, Kadam targeted the state government for the collapse of law and order situation in the state and demanded that immediate steps should be taken to ensure the safety of dalits, tribals and minorities in the state. 'The law and order situation has collapsed after the double-engine government came to power in the state. The government should distance itself from the RSS and VHP's agenda and maintain law and order in the state,' he said.
Stating that the two dalit persons were subjected to inhumane and brutal treatment by a group of people claiming to be members of the VHP and cow vigilantes, Kadam said this is unacceptable in a civilized society. This incident has brought shame to our state, he said.
The CLP leader said one of the victims, Babulal Nayak, had purchased a cow from Gomata Gumma area on the day to gift it to his daughter on her wedding, following Hindu rituals. When he was returning home, some anti-social youths stopped him at Khariguma and questioned him. When Babulal replied that he was taking it as a gift for his daughter's wedding, the accused began to abuse him using casteist slurs and assaulted him. When another person intervened, he was also brutally beaten.
Kadam alleged that the accused demanded Rs 30,000 from the victims and when they could not pay, they subjected them to inhumane treatment, including making them crawl on their knees, forced them to eat grass and drink dirty water from a drain. This horrific incident occurred just six km away from the police station, but the administration seemed unaware, he added.
Stating that the victims belonging to poor dalit families are struggling to make ends meet, Kadam said that after the incident, their mental state has deteriorated and they are now traumatised. He demanded that a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each should be provided to the victims.
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