MP: Dalit family attacked while farming, seeds snatched

In a disturbing incident, a Dalit family was brutally attacked with sticks while working on farmland they claim is legally theirs.

The assault took place on Friday, June 27, in Narayanpura village, Lateri tehsil of Madhya Pradesh, when members of the Ahirwar community were sowing soybean seeds. According to the victims, a group allegedly from the Gurjar community attacked them without provocation.

The assailants not only beat up the family, which injured four, including two women, but also snatched their seeds and sowed them in a neighbouring field.

“We were sowing seeds on our own land when Murari, Hansraj, Gudda, Parvat, and Bunty came and started beating us. They hit the women too. They took away our seeds and later sowed them in their field as if to assert their dominance,” said Bhagwat Singh Ahirwar, one of the injured, to NDTV.

All four injured family members were admitted to the Lateri Government Hospital for treatment.

Authorities acknowledged that part of the land may be government-owned, which could have led to the dispute. However, the Ahirwar family insists the land belongs to them and alleges repeated pressure from the accused to stop cultivating it.