Brother, uncle ‘beaten to death’, now Dalit victim of sexual harassment dies after ‘falling from ambulance’

On Saturday, the woman’s uncle was beaten to death by some persons over an old enmity, the police said.

“He (uncle) died of injuries sustained in a clash between two groups under Khurai police station limits,” Additional Superintendent of Police Lokesh Sinha said.

When asked if the uncle was killed due to pressure for compromise in the old case, Sinha said, “all facts would come out during the investigation”.

However, the family members of the deceased alleged that the accused had been mounting pressure on the woman’s uncle to withdraw the case. “There was constant pressure on us, but we did not withdraw the case. Our brother was killed and we could not let that go… Then they killed our uncle on Saturday. My sister and the uncle’s parents had left from Sagar with the body in an ambulance, when she fell from the van,” another brother of the deceased woman told The Indian Express.

The family members of the woman have alleged that she died as the door of the ambulance was left open.

“How did she (the victim) sitting inside the ambulance die in a road mishap? There was nothing to suggest that she would ever kill herself. Why did the ambulance take an unusual route? We were under constant pressure to withdraw the molestation case. Our uncle was killed over this issue,” the brother said.

Former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh on Monday met the family members of the deceased woman. “The administration promised to give her a government job, did they give her one? They made some other promises too like demolishing houses (of the accused), did they demolish… I am not in favour of bulldozing someone’s house, but you demolish many peoples’ houses in the name of action,” he said.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday slammed the Modi government over the death of the woman. In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka said, “This incident that happened with a Dalit sister in Madhya Pradesh is heart-wrenching. The people of BJP are after the Constitution because they do not want that women of the country, Dalits, tribals and backward people should live with dignity, nor their complaints heard anywhere.”

State Congress chief Jitu Patwari in a post on X claimed the uncle was attacked by five people who were pressuring him for a compromise in the old case.

“The law and order has deteriorated in the state under chief minister Mohan Yadav, who also holds the home portfolio. This crisis is not only in Sagar but in every district of the state. The law and order system has become a joke, which is boosting the confidence of criminals, and the government is silent,” the Congress leader said.

BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja, however, said the state government had ordered an impartial investigation into the matter.

“The government has given directions to investigate the case. No one will be spared. We work as per the legal procedure. The Congress is playing divide and rule over this incident. There will be justice for the family,” Saluja said.