A case has been filed against some members of the Muslim community in Bihar’s Begusarai for perpetrating violence against the Mahadalit community. Shankar Paswan and his family members have accused Muslims in the Pipra Dewas village of committing atrocities against them. Already the area is categorised as highly sensitive and has witnessed several such communal strifes in the past. In this regard, OpIndia talked to the victims to know their side of the story.
Local Hindu organisations and villagers claim Muslims tortured members of Mahadalit community
The members of the Hindu Sangharsh Samiti have alleged that Mahadalits were tortured in ward number 13 of Pipra Dewas Panchayat. A meeting was organised by ‘Hindu Sangharsh Samiti’ under the presidency of Vijay Paswan in the premises of Shiv Temple of Pipra Dewas Panchayat of Barauni block of the district where the victim Shankar Paswan asserted that the Muslims had misbehaved with the Mahadalits.
In the latest incident, the local Muslim youths have been accused of humiliating Mahadalits by making casteist slurs such as ‘Dusadh-Dusadh’, said Paswan alleging that Hindu deities were also subjected to abuse by the anti-social elements of the Muslim community. Paswan further added that when the accused were asked to not indulge in such behaviour, they surrounded their locality with weapons such as swords, batons, iron rods and spears and smashed the widow Munni Devi’s house with brickbats and bottles of liquor.
At the same time, Vijay Paswan also aired his grievances against the local administration. He alleged that the registration of an FIR against the victim shows the collusion of the administration with the anti-social elements. According to him, dozens of Hindu families are forced to suffer because of the administration. He claimed that even after 5 days of the incident, none of the miscreants was arrested, which demonstrated the administration’s apathy towards the sufferings of Hindus.