A Dalit woman sarpanch and her husband were attacked with an axe in Kharesh village in Rajasthan’s Didwana district.
The incident occurred on June 8. The Dalit couple were overseeing a road construction site under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme.
“The issue was a land dispute. A road is being constructed near the accused Bhanwar Singh’s house. He presumed his land was being encroached,” Didwana superintendent of police, Hanuman Prasad told Siasat.com.
Singh hurled casteist slurs at the Dalit couple and chased them with an axe.
A video of the altercation emerged, depicting multiple women struggling with Singh to grab hold of the axe in his hands.
“The Dalit sarpanch and her husband were not seriously hurt. We have registered a case under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 126 (wrongful restrainment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhiti (BNS), as well as relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989,” SP Prasad said.
Bhanwar Singh is currently absconding, and an investigation is underway.
Social media users reacted with shock, expressing disbelief at the worsening state of law and order in Rajasthan. Viewers criticised the government and the police for not taking any immediate action on the scene.
| Edited by Veena Nair | 
