4 killed as Dalits crushed under tractors, women thrashed in violence over land dispute in Rajasthan

May 16, 2015

Nagaur, May 16: Scores of Dalits have fled their homes in Rajasthan's Nagaur district after four people were killed by Jats, some of them run over by tractors, during a sudden flare-up of violence over a decades-old land dispute.

dalith runSix women of the Meghwal Dalit community women who were seriously injured during the clashes in Dangawas village, 250 km from state capital Jaipur, on Thursday alleged that Jats tried to rape them.

The dispute revolves round 24 bigahs of land that were mortgaged by a Dalit man 40 years ago for a loan of Rs 1,500. The man's son, 65-year-old Ratanram Meghwal, had approached Jats, the region's dominant upper caste, to give up their claim on the land but they refused.

Tensions spiked on Thursday morning when supporters of Chimanram Jat began moving towards the home of Ratanram Meghwal, which was built on the disputed land. There was a pitched battle when one group tried to occupy the land, said police officer Purna Ram.

Members of the Dalit community too gathered and took position on the roof of Maghwal's house. When the Jats got closer, Meghwal's supporters allegedly opened fire.

This enraged the Jats, and hundreds of them gathered in the choupal (common assembly area) of Dangawas and decided to attack Meghwal's home. Jats armed with guns, axes and other weapons rode dozens of tractors towards the disputed land.

Sources in Dangawas said a war-like situation prevailed in the village as the Jats crushed Meghwal's house with tractors and the two groups exchanged fire.

Three Dalits -- Meghwal, Pokaram and Pancharam - and an OBC man identified as Rampal Gosain died while women were allegedly dragged out of Meghwal's flattened house and beaten.

Reports said some of the Dalits who died were mowed down with tractors. The men on tractors also chased a woman in a bid to crush her. Though the woman evaded the tractors, she was caught by some men and thrashed with sticks, sources said.

Thirteen people, including women, were injured in the clash. The injured were admitted to Jawahalal Nehru Hospital in Ajmer. Officials described the condition of two of them as critical.

One of the injured, Bhanwari Meghwal, who suffered fractures in both legs and arms and had 15 stitches on her head, alleged that two Jat men tore off her blouse and tried to tear her ghaghra (a frock worn by village women) in an attempt to rape her. But she said she had saved herself.

Four more Dalit women - Sonika, Shobha, Badami and Papuri, who are being treated at the hospital in Ajmer - alleged they were mercilessly beaten and molested by Jat men.

"One of them grabbed my hair and dragged me about 50 metres before tearing off my duppata and hitting me on my legs and arms with an iron rod, resulting in multiple fractures," alleged Badami.

Some members of the Dalit community alleged that the Jat men had assaulted the Dalit women and tried to insert rods in their genitals. However, police officers and doctors treating the women denied this claim.

Angry Dalit leaders said they would not take the bodies of dead members of their community from the mortuary unless 13 Jat men named in an FIR were arrested.

The FIR against the 13 Jats was filed at Merta police station on Thursday. However, no arrests have been made so far.

Police officer Purna Ram said four teams had been formed to nab the accused. "We will soon arrest them," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 9,2020

Noida, Jan 6: A fire broke out at the ESIC Hospital in Noida on Thursday morning and firefighting was underway, officials said.

The blaze broke out in the basement of the seven-storey hospital building located in Sector 24, a police official said.

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot after the Fire Department was alerted about it around 8 am, the official said.

After that, a search was done to see if anyone was trapped in the building, he said.

The cooling process is now underway.

He said the fire had engulfed the ground, first and second floors of the building, except the basement.

Police said they received information about fire at Kaveri printing press at 2:45 am, when the manager Yogesh called them. The press owners have been identified as Atul and Anuj Goyal, residents of Sukhdev Vihar, they said.

The man who died in the fire has been identified as Phool Dev, from Bihar, who used to work as a help there. Dev went inside the building in the night to sleep before the fire started and died due to suffocation, the fire department official said.

The body has been kept at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital and the post-mortem will be done once the family reaches here, police said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 9,2020

Panaji, Feb 9: RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi on Saturday said that anybody who wants to work (in India) will have to do so with the Hindu community and for their empowerment.

Addressing a lecture on the topic "Vishwaguru Bharat, an RSS perspective" at Dona Paula in Panaji, Mr Joshi referred to his communication with an intellectual who had said that India should become a "supre-rashtra" in the year 2020.

"Anybody who wants to work (in India) will have to work with the Hindu commumnity by taking them along and for their empowerment. Hindus have witnessed the rise and fall of India since the time immemorial. India cannot be separated from (the) Hindu (community). Hindus have always been at the centre of this nation," Mr Joshi said in Marathi.

He also added that since Hindus are not communal or antagonist, "nobody should be reluctant to work for the Hindu community".

The RSS leader further said, "The world says India will become a superpower in 2020, but I remember my conversation with an intellectual who had said that India should become a super-rashtra (super nation) in 2020".

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was among those who attended the lecture.

"To create awareness and unity amongst Hindus does not amount to (taking) an action against others (community). No one should feel it that way. We can say with utter self confidence before the entire world that Hindus becoming strong won't result in destructive activities, but (such proposition) will work for the society and humanity," he added.

Invoking history, Mr Joshi said Hindus never invaded other countries. "Whatever wars (they had fought) were for self defence. Everyone has the right to self defence," he said.

"It is India's duty to teach the world to walk on the path of ''samanvay'' (coordination). Nobody else other than India and Hindus can do this," Mr Joshi said.

He said some communities in the world keep preaching that only their path is "great".

"But we are from the (Hindu) community which says that we have our own path so as you. When the world will accept this ideology, then all the issues would get solved. It is the duty of India to take the world on that path," he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 22,2020

Bengaluru, May 22: Amazon.com Inc’s India unit said it would hire 50,000 temporary workers to meet a surge in online shopping in the country, where customers have been stuck indoors for two months in a lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

E-commerce firms faced massive disruption in the initial days of the lockdown in India, but a slow easing of the stringent regulations has allowed them to resume large parts of their operations.

"We want to continue helping customers all over India get everything they need so they can continue to practice social distancing," Amazon senior executive Akhil Saxena said in a statement on the company's blog. (bit.ly/2A1Wv7O)

“(The move) will also keep as many people as possible working during this pandemic while providing a safe work environment for them,” said Saxena, Amazon’s VP for customer fulfillment operations in APAC, MENA & Latam.

The temporary hires will work in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and as part of its delivery network, the company said, making the announcement at a time when various other companies in the country have been forced to cut jobs as they try to tide over the health crisis.

Amazon itself has pushed its annual global Prime Day event, traditionally a summer affair, to September, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

In India, where the Jeff Bezos-led company faces stiff competition from Walmart Inc’s Flipkart, Amazon earlier said it plans to create 1 million jobs by 2025.

The company also said on Thursday it plans to enter the food delivery business in India, pitting itself against well-established startups such as Swiggy and Zomato.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.