RAJBIRAJ, APRIL 27
A dispute at a wedding has led to the death of a Dalit youth in Khadak Municipality, Saptari.
Seriously injured in an assault launched by a group of socalled high-caste youths of the village, Santalal Paswan, 25, of Pasera in Khadak Municipality, died while undergoing treatment at Morang's Biratnagar today.
On Monday night, there was a wedding in Santalal's neighbourhood. As the bridegroom and the marriage party was about to reach the bride's home, a band of so-called upper caste youths from the village tried to stop the marriage party, saying they wanted to dance to the tune of the music playing. As delay in the arrival of the groom's procession at the bride's home was likely to affect the scheduled event, a few people from the bride's side, including Santalal's parents, had gone to hurry the marriage party.
But the non-Dalit youths enjoying the music wouldn't let the marriage party move ahead. This caused a dispute.
Santalal and other youths had managed to get the marriage party to move ahead by talking to the youths detaining it.
However, just some time after the marriage procession had reached the bride's home, a group of non-Dalit youths accosted Santalal and struck him on the head with bricks.
Santalal's father Ram Ashish Paswan charged that the non-Dalits had attacked his son in an act of vindictiveness.
"Just on Monday, our neighbour from our own community had filed nomination for a ward chairperson under independent category, and apparently the non-Dalits took it out on my son, by attacking him to death as a Dalit was daring to contest in the election," said the bereaved father. "They attacked him, saying how dare Dalits get involved in politics."
Further, the father identified Bibek Chaudhary, Sushant Chaudhary, Narasingh Chaudhary, Govind Chaudhary, Dinesh Chaudhary and others as the attackers.
Though Santalal was rushed immediately to Saptarishi Hospital in Lahan for treatment, he had to be sent elsewhere to Nobel Hospital as he couldn't be treated in Lahan itself. He died this morning.
According to District Police Office Spokesperson DSP Madhav Prasad Kafle, one person has been detained over the incident on the basis of the FIR filed by the victim's side. "We've started investigation by arresting one person and further investigation is under way," he said.
The locals staged a chakkajam at Amaha Chowk on the East-West Highway this morning following Santalal's death. The chakkajam lasted for three hours before it ended following agreement that justice will be provided to the victim's family.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 28, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
