MP man alleges social ostracism as panchayat orders 'boycott' for eating at Dalit's house; probe on

Raisen (MP), Dec 10 (PTI) A man from Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh has alleged that his village panchayat ordered a social boycott against him and his family after he ate food at a Dalit's family as part of a post-death ritual, prompting the authorities to launch a probe.

The incident occurred in Piparia Puaria village of Udaypura, around 100 km from the district headquarters around a month back and came to light on Tuesday during a "jan sunwai" (public hearing) of the matter.

The village panchayat allegedly ordered the social boycott of three members of an upper caste community for consuming food at the Dalit man's house, and set certain conditions before them, including organising a feast, to avoid ostracism.

While two of the three men accepted the panchayat's conditions and performed 'penance', one of them - Bharat Singh Dhakad - approached the police and lodged a complaint against the village body, alleging that he and his family members were being treated like "untouchables" and barred from taking part in social events, a police official said.

The village sarpanch, however, dismissed the allegations.

Udaypura is the assembly constituency of Madhya Pradesh Minister of State for Health Narendra Shivaji Patel.

Udaypura tehsildar Dinesh Bargale said that the Dhakad filed an application to the collector during the public hearing on Tuesday, accusing the panchayat of issuing the social boycott order.

Dhakad made these allegations against the sarpanch, deputy sarpanch, and panchs of the concerned gram panchayat, he said.

"The matter is being investigated and if the allegations are found to be true, legal action will be taken against those involved," Bargale said.

Dhakad said he and his fellow gram panchayat assistant secretary Manoj Patel and teacher Satyendra Singh Raghuvanshi had a meal at a Dalit family's house in the village as part of a 'shraddha' ceremony.

But after the incident, the panchayat passed a resolution declaring that eating at a Dalit's house was a "greater sin than cow slaughter" and those who indulged in it must purify themselves by bathing in the Ganga river and by offering a feast in the village, he said.

Dhakad claimed that under pressure from the panchayat, Patel and Raghuvanshi bathed in the Ganga river and organised a feast in the village, but he refused to comply. After this, he and his family were socially boycotted and excluded from all events, he said.

Dhakad said that he was being treated like an untouchable and barred from entering the temple.

He also claimed that when he raised this issue with the panchayat, he was asked to have his head shaved to absolve himself of the sins and perform the "pind daan" (a post-death ritual) for his father while he was still alive.

When contacted, sarpanch Bhagwan Singh Patel dismissed the allegations as baseless.

"If someone in the village is not inviting him to their programme due to personal reasons, then it is his personal matter. Allegations like untouchability are not correct," he said.

The sarpanch said that MLA and Minister of State Narendra Shivaji Patel also came and tried to convince the people. "But if they are not listening, what can he do?" Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Kunwar Singh Mukati said that excluding someone from social events in the village, treating them as untouchables, or imposing punishments such as bathing in the Ganga, performing feasts, and tonsuring ceremonies are punishable offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

"Spreading social animosity, forcing social punishment through pressure or threats, and preventing social participation are crimes. Every citizen has the right to live with dignity and equality. Therefore, if such a case comes to light, an investigation will be conducted and the culprits will be prosecuted," he said.

When Satyendra Singh Raghuvanshi, the teacher who ate with Dhakad at the Dalit's house, was contacted about this, he said that he is no longer facing any boycott.

He said he has been posted at the government middle school in the village for the last 16 years and the Dalit man, where he went to have meal, has been his friend.

"I do not believe in the caste system, so I went to my friend Santosh Mehtar's house to eat during the 'shraddha' ceremony. Someone made a video of the incident and circulated it locally, which led to a controversy," he said.

Talking to PTI, Raghuvanshi admitted that as per the panchayat's order, he went to his guru's ashram in Allahabad and came back after bathing at the sangam (confluence) of rivers.

"I don't have complaints against anyone," he said. PTI COR BNS MAS NP