[ad_1]
Several women from the Pardhi tribal community in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district took off their clothes at the Collectorate on July 17 during a protest against the alleged death, in police custody, of a tribal man arrested on his wedding day.
The incident took place on Tuesday morning (July 16) when the women arrived at the Guna Collector’s office to submit a complaint. According to the police, the women wanted to meet Collector Satendra Singh to demand an inquiry and a clash broke out when the police stopped them from entering his office.
Pictures and videos of the clash have gone viral on the internet and an FIR has been filed against the women.
The women were protesting the custodial death of Deva Pardhi (25) who was arrested in a case of theft on July 14, just hours before his wedding. His uncle, Gangaram, was also arrested. The police informed Pardhi’s family about his death on the same night. A postmortem has been ordered and a magisterial probe is now under way.
On July 15, Pardhi’s fiancé tried to immolate herself but was saved by local residents and police officers. Gangaram’s wife set herself on fire and suffered injuries.
‘Died of heart attack’
While the police claimed that Pardhi had complained of chest pain and died of a heart attack, his family has alleged that he was beaten up by the police, resulting in his death.
On a video of the protest, the women at the Guna Collectorate can also be heard asking, “How can a 25-year-old die of heart attack?” and raising slogans, saying, “Look, what justice is given here?”
Some women lay on the floor of the Collectorate, shouting and crying for justice. As the police officers tried to remove them from the office, several of them removed their clothes to mark their protest. One woman and one police officer were injured in the clashes. The women were removed from the Collectorate after nearly an hour-long protest.
Postmortem, probe under way
Additional Superintendent of Police Maan Singh Thakur told The Hindu that an FIR has been filed against the protesting women and that a probe is under way. On Pardhi’s family’s demand, a magisterial investigation has now been ordered, which will look into all aspects of the incident, he added. However, he insisted that Pardhi and Gangaram had been arrested in a theft case in the jurisdiction of the Myana police station.
“Deva [Pardhi] complained of chest pain at around 6 p.m. when he was being taken for the recovery [of the stolen items]. He was immediately taken to the local hospital but as there was no doctor available, he was referred to the district hospital,” Mr. Thakur said, adding that Pardhi died after 45 minutes of treatment. A postmortem has been ordered to determine the cause of his death.
Another police officer, who requested anonymity, said that Pardhi had seven cases of theft and other crimes registered against him, while Gangaram is an accused in 16 cases. “Deva is also a prime accused in a ₹5 crore robbery in Ratlam district,” the officer said.
[ad_2]
Source link
