A shocking incident has come to light from Katni district in Madhya Pradesh, where a Dalit youth was allegedly assaulted and humiliated by a group of men for opposing illegal mining. The accused, including the village sarpanch (head) Ramanuj Pandey, his son, and others, reportedly beat up the victim and urinated on his face.
According to police officials, the incident took place on October 13 in Matwara village, under Bahoriband police station — around 45 km from the district headquarters. All the accused are currently absconding, and efforts are underway to arrest them.
Dispute Over Illegal Mining
Additional SP Santosh Dehriya said the dispute began when the sarpanch was carrying out land-leveling work for the village panchayat. The victim alleged that the accused were illegally excavating soil near his farmland for this purpose. When he protested, they became enraged and attacked him.
Sarpanch, Son, and Others Accused
In his complaint to the police, the victim — identified as Rajkumar Choudhary — alleged that during the assault, Pawan Pandey, the sarpanch’s son, urinated on his face, hurled caste-based slurs, and threatened to kill him if he complained.
The Additional SP Santosh Dehriya confirmed that four residents of the same village — Ramanuj Pandey, Ram Bihari Pandey, Pawan Pandey, and Satish Pandey — have been booked for assault and caste abuse. The complaint was lodged on Thursday, four days after the incident, and a case has been registered under multiple IPC sections and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
“They Beat Me and Humiliated Me”
Speaking to the media, Rajkumar Choudhary recounted, “Sarpanch Ramanuj Pandey was carrying out illegal mining. When I opposed it, he and his men caught me, beat me, and abused me with caste and obscene words. During the assault, his son Pawan Pandey urinated on my face. When my mother tried to intervene, they pulled her by the hair and beat her too. I somehow escaped and was admitted to Katni Hospital for three days. I have head and body injuries. I feel so humiliated that I’m ashamed to return to my village. I even had thoughts of ending my life, but I have small children, and I must live for them. I met the SP today and demanded justice.”
Police Action Under SC/ST Act
Police confirmed that a case has been filed against the accused under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with other sections related to assault.
“All accused are absconding. Search operations are ongoing to arrest them,” said Additional SP Dehriya.
Similar Incident in 2023
It’s worth noting that a similar case was reported in 2023 from Sidhi district — about 200 km from Katni — where a local BJP leader was caught on video urinating on a tribal man. That case had triggered widespread outrage and became a major political issue ahead of the state assembly elections.
