Minor girl from Dalit community in Bihar beaten with sticks for plucking chickpea plant leaves, dies

A minor girl hailing from the Dalit community was reportedly killed after she was badly beaten with sticks for plucking some leaves of a gram plant from the field of a farmer in Bihar, causing tension in the area. A report by The Times of India said the horrific incident took place in Bihar's Kaimur district. Police are on the lookout for four absconding persons against whom they have registered a case.

The 14 year-old victim, identified as one Sundari Kumar, was a student of Class 8 in the local school and had been out with her cousin in their farmland when she saw the gram leaves in a neighbouring farm and was tempted to pluck a few. Cops said the owner of the farm, identified as Ramadhar Yadav and his son Gaurav, saw the duo and came out with bamboo sticks and started beating the two girls. The girl hailed from the Hata village under the Chainpur police station limits.

“After getting hold of the girl, they badly assaulted her with bamboo sticks. Somehow, she reached home tottering and collapsed soon,” Chainpur station house officer Shambhu Kumar told the publication. The girl's cousin was also injured in the attack.

Police said they are conducting raids to arrest the accused and assured they will be in custody soon.

Local CPI-ML leader Vijay Singh Yadav visited the victim's family and demanded the accused be arrested soon and also sought Rs 20 lakh compensation for the bereaved family, the report said.

Crimes against those from the Dalit communities have seen a rise in recent times. A Dalit youth was allegedly beaten to death by a group of people over an old enmity in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district back in August.

More recently, a 45-year-old Dalit woman from the community was killed after she was allegedly thrashed by two men angered by her refusal to convince her son to withdraw an old case registered against them by the police under the Atrocities Act in Bhavnagar city of Gujarat.