Dalit boy shot for delay in removing plates

Grave mistake

A slight delay in removing dirty plates cost an 11-year old Dalit his life in Uttar Pradesh's newly created Shamli district, about 400 km from here.

The shocking incident occurred at a “dhaba” (roadside eatery) in the district late on Monday night. According to police sources, the Dalit boy, identified as Neeraj, worked at the “dhaba” as a petty labourer, washing plates and serving customers. Neeraj's father was an unskilled worker at a small factory a few kilometres away from the eatery.

On Monday night, a customer, identified as Jagpal Singh, came to the “dhaba” and ordered food. Singh asked Neeraj to remove the dirty plates from the table at which he was sitting. Since Neeraj was busy in doing some other work, he could not immediately remove the plates.

Singh got angry after Neeraj failed to remove the plates despite being told several times. Irked over the delay, Singh went to Neeraj and started thrashing him. As the other workers at the “dhaba” came out in support of Neeraj, an angry Singh took out a country made pistol and fired at Neeraj.

According to sources, the bullet hit the boy in the stomach. He was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival. A case of murder has been registered against Singh, who is absconding. The police said they have launched a manhunt to nab him.

A large number of children work at the roadside eateries in the state, despite child labour being illegal in the country. According to official records, the number of labourers between the age of five and 14 years in India is a whopping 1.26 crore in 2011. These children have to work under inhuman conditions, and are often exploited. They are paid very little by way of wages.