Thursday, March 28, 2024

Madhya Pradesh: Adivasi woman set ablaze, five arrested

A 45-year-old Adivasi woman identified as Rampyari Bai, is in a critical condition after being set on fire by a group of people in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district because of a land dispute.

A 45-year-old Adivasi woman identified as Rampyari Bai, is in a critical condition after being set on fire by a group of people in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district because of a land dispute.

Five people, including two women, have been arrested, police said on Sunday. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon when the woman, objected to the accused person’s move to plough a six bigha land in Dhanoria village of Bamori that her family says was handed over to them by the local administration in May, according to The Hindu.

The woman has been admitted to district hospital, where her condition is stated to be serious, Hindustan Times reported.

A video, purportedly shot by the accused, shows the tribal woman crying in pain after they allegedly poured diesel and set her ablaze.

The woman’s husband, Arjun Saharia, told the police that he found Bai lying in their farm with severe burn injuries when he reached there.

The five arrested accused have been identified as Pratap Dhakad, Hanumant Dhakad, Shyam Dhakad, Avanti Bai and Sudama Bai, said Pankaj Shrivastava, superintendent of police, Guna.

They have been booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act.

A week before the incident, Saharia said that their family had sought protection from the police, citing threats from the accused persons, The Hindu reported. However, the police took no action.

“When will the tribal community in the state be safe?” former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath asked, reacting to the incident. He criticised the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Bharatiya Janata Party government, for his “hostile attitude” towards the Adivasis.

“A party that puts up Draupadi Murmu for the Presidential election allows such a terrible atrocity on a tribal woman. SHAMEFUL!,” tweeted Jairam Ramesh, senior Congress leader.

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