Four assault Dalit man, urinate on him for opposing illegal mining in MP's Katni

Katni, Oct 16 (PTI) A Dalit youth opposing illegal mining was allegedly beaten up and urinated upon by four persons in Katni district in Madhya Pradesh, a police official said on Thursday.

The incident occurred on October 14 in Matwara village, some 45 kilometres from the district headquarters, under Bahoriband police station limits, he said.

"Ramanuj Pandey, Ram Bihari Pandey, Pawan Pandey and Satish Pandey allegedly assaulted and insulted Rajkumar Chaudhary. All five are residents of Matwara village. A case was registered under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act today. The four are on the run and efforts are on to nab them," said Additional Superintendent of Police Santosh Deharia.

Chaudhary alleged Pawan Pandey, who is also the village sarpanch's son, urinated on him, subjected him to casteist slurs and threatened to kill him if he approached police.

The incident was a fallout of a dispute following the sarpanch's decision to have gravel filled in the gram panchayat.

Chaudhary claimed the accused were carrying out illegal mining near his farm, which he had opposed.

Incidentally, a similar incident in 2023 in Sidhi district, adjacent to Katni, had hit national headlines and become a major issue during the assembly polls later that year.

In the incident in Sidhi, a tribal youth was urinated upon. PTI COR MAS BNM