A 90-year-old Dalit man was attacked brutally with a pick-axe and then set on fire by an upper caste man, just for he tried to enter the temple for worship in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district on Wednesday.
The incident happens just after days of a Muslim man beaten to death and his son is battling for life in a local hospital by Hindu neighbors for allegedly eating beef.
Is there any politics behind these incidents? It is to be noted that elections in UP are near, and all political parties are trying to make their vote bank strong.
According to Hindustan Times, Chimma, along with his wife, son, and brother was on their way to Gaya to pay respects to their forefathers in accordance with Hindu rituals.
However, as was the tradition in the family, Chimma decided to visit the Maidani Baba temple first. When he turned up at the temple, a man called Sanjay Tiwari belonging to an upper caste stopped them.
According to police, Tiwari, refused to let him enter and insulted the family for being Dalits.
When Chimma didn’t pay attention to Tiwari’s words to him, Tiwari repeatedly hit him with a pickaxe. Terrified, family members (all elderly people) started shouting for help from the onlooker and passerby.
Much to the shock, the event took place in presence of several other worshippers. However, none came forward, reported the Navbharat Times. While Chimma’s family was looking for help, Tiwari poured kerosene and set elderly man on fire.
Later, police took Tiwari into custody. However he was shielded by saying he is an alcoholic.
Chimma’s family mourns over his death and blame police for shielding the accused. “Is temple only meant for Upper caste people? Don’t we have right to live?” Chimma’s wife asked.
Now and then, such incidents keep adding to the troubled history of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, which includes horrific incidents that took place recently. In June, a Dalit girl was thrashed and threatened with murder by an upper caste woman all because her shadow fell on her Husband.
Before that, in March, upper caste men set a 17-year-old girl on fire in Pattherdawa village just because she had a dream to study and was preparing for Intermediate examinations.