Satara Horror: Dalit Widow Beaten on Road in Public in Panven Village for Seeking Return of Rs 2,000; Three Accused Arrested (Watch Video)
The shocker took place on August 26 in Panven village where the victim, Shahida Mahadev Tupe was beaten up in public and evoked strong reactions from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar.
Satara, August 31: In yet another incident, a Dalit widow was allegedly thrashed by at least four persons after she demanded repayment of a Rs 2,000 advance paid to a man for undelivered fodder, as videos of the beating went viral on social media network here on Thursday. The shocker took place on August 26 in Panven village where the victim, Shahida Mahadev Tupe was beaten up in public and evoked strong reactions from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar.
According to local eyewitnesses, the prime accused, one Devdas Naraley and his associates allegedly abused, punched, kicked and pushed around the middle-aged woman till she fell on the road, crying for help. With no help from the onlookers, some of whom were clicking pictures or videos of the assault, the four assailants fled the spot. Bihar Shocker: Woman Semi-Stripped, Beaten, Tied to Tree Overnight in Sheohar.
Dalit Widow Beaten on Road in Satara
Later, the widow's son lodged a police complaint after which the police swung into action and nabbed the remaining accused Santosh Shinde, Shantaram Narale, and Janappa Shinde by late Monday, two days after the incident. Ambedkar said that the video of the physical abuse "is so disturbing that I am struggling to find words in my vocabulary to illustrate this caste atrocity in words. Absolutely cruel and inhuman".
"It does not stop, does it? A helpless Dalit widow was brutally beaten by a group of men in Satara. Her crime? She demanded her own money back which she paid for undelivered goods – fodder," said Ambedkar on a social media post.
The Mhaswad Police, probing the outrageous incident, have booked all the accused under various sections of Indian Penal Code and Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Gujarat Shocker: Two Dalit Brothers Killed Over Land Dispute in Surendranagar; Five of Six Accused Arrested.
The VBA activists protested on Wednesday in the village and later, submitted a memorandum to the district authorities demanding police security and justice for the Tupe family. This is the second major attack on Dalits, coming close on the heels of the August 25 incident in Haregaon, Ahmednagar when four VBA activists were stripped, urinated upon, spat, hung upside down from a tree and beaten up. VBA chief Ambedkar will take out a protest rally in Ahmednagar to condemn that and the fresh incident reported from Satara.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2023 09:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).