Dalit youth attacked for drinking water from pitcher

HISAR (HARYANA): In a shocking case of casterelated violence, a man belonging to the upper caste almost chopped off an arm of a Dalit youth as he drank water from his pitcher. Police said Thursday that Rajendar alias Pappu almost chopped off an arm of Dalit labourer Rajesh Ranga alias Raju for drinking water from his container yesterday. The culprit has been arrested under Section 326 of the IPC (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or other means) and under various provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, they said. Ranga, a daily wager of village Sanyana in Fatehabad district in the state, had gone in search of work in village Daulatpur near here. As he became thirsty, he stopped to drink water from the pitcher of Rajendar, a farmer. But hardly had the Dalit touched the pitcher, the farmer got enraged and attacked him with a sickle, badly injuring his arm. A surgery was conducted on the victim at a local private hospital where doctors said it might take three months for him to recover. Meanwhile, the district authorities handed over Rs 50,000 to the Dalit youth and a deputy superintendent of police has been deputed to investigate the case. District Development and Panchayat Offi cer Sumit Kumar said the victim will be provided free treatment by the government. Hisar Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Aggarwal said senior district offi cials visited the hospital to enquire about the well being of the victim. The authorities are maintaining a close watch on the development keeping in mind the 2010 Mirchpur riots in the state in which a Dalit man and his physically- challenged daughter were charred to death by some persons belonging to a higher caste over a trivial matter.