At least 200 Dalits gathered and protested at the Rajanna Sircilla Collectorate in Telangana on Wednesday, June 30, alleging police inaction against a ruling party member. The protestors demanded the immediate arrest of Kende Gangadhar, the sarpanch of Bavusaipet village, who belongs to the TRS party. Gangadhar has been absconding for nearly 10 days after allegedly brutally assaulting a Dalit man from the same village.
According to the protestors, though the police had registered a case against the accused village sarpanch and his accomplice Chigurla Devaiah soon after the incident took place, they are yet to arrest them.
On June 20, at around 12 am, the victim Boddu Bhumaiah, who belongs to the Madiga community, categorised as Scheduled Caste, went to Mulavagu water stream to excavate sand. He was hired by a person identified as Anil Yadav, reportedly a rival of the accused sarpanch, to mine sand. Bhumaiah drives a tractor and since he has been losing work opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been mining sand, according to his family members.
Along with Bhumaiah, three others– Dasari Vamshi, Dasai Sai and Pamba Pavan (all Dalits) – were undertaking mining sand. Noticing them, the village sarpanch Kende Gangadhar along with his men charged at them hurling caste slurs. While the others fled from the spot, Bhumaiah was caught and brutally thrashed. “He was kicked around and hit with a spade, causing severe injuries,” said Srinivas, from Ambedkar Youth Association, who visited Bavusaipet village as part of a fact-finding mission.
As per the FIR, registered the following day, the accused also threatened to kill him. Due to the physical assault, Bhumaiah received severe injuries on his legs and thighs.
Speaking to TNM, Boddu Chandrasekhar, the victim’s brother said, “We want strict action against the accused. They beat up my brother with impunity. While my brother has no personal animosity with the sarpanch, he was working for Anil Yadav, his rival, which seems to have bothered the sarpanch. And since he seemed like an easy pick to take his revenge, he was brutally assaulted.”
The FIR has listed Chigurla Devaiah as the prime accused, while the sarpanch is recognised as the second accused. Both the accused are booked under the charges of ‘Punishment for public nuisance,’ ‘Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt’ and ‘Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons,’ along with Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The victim reportedly told the fact-finding team that the accused beat him saying that the village was being ruined because of “them” (Madigas). And that allowing “them” to stay in the village was a mistake and that “they must be killed for the good of the village".
“The District Superintendent of Police had assured prompt action earlier, but with the delay in arresting the accused, they are seeking to quash the case in the court. We demand justice and the police should immediately arrest both the accused,” said Chandrasekhar.