- Outrage in Sagar
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh: A horrifying incident in Sagar district’s Rajoli village has ignited widespread condemnation, exposing a shocking reality of violence and caste-based discrimination against Scheduled Caste women in Madhya Pradesh. Smt. Kaushalya Bai Chadar, a serving woman Kotwar, was subjected to a brutal, life-threatening assault by dominant villagers Pawan Lodhi and Anikesh Lodhi. Her home was bulldozed, and she and her family were verbally abused with casteist slurs and threatened with forceful eviction.
At the time of the attack, Kaushalya Bai was at the Tehsil office when her son frantically called, informing her that their home was being demolished with family members trapped inside. Swift intervention by officials and police from the Tehsil office managed to rescue the family. However, shockingly, the Rahatgarh police station failed to take any legal action for days, even after the victim filed a complaint at the Sagar SP office.
The accused remain at large, roaming freely in the village, while Kaushalya Bai has been forced to abandon her home and live as a renter in Rahatgarh for the past 20 days. This egregious treatment of a government employee, an SC woman, underscores profound administrative insensitivity and ingrained caste discrimination.
The Scheduled Caste Department, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, has expressed deep outrage. State President Pradeep Ahirwar declared, “This attack is not just on an employee, but on the dignity and security of the entire Scheduled Caste community. If swift, strict action isn’t taken, it signals the current government’s complete insensitivity towards Dalit safety and justice.”
Demands include immediate FIR and arrest of the accused under relevant sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Act and IPC, provision of security and rehabilitation for the victim’s family, and a judicial inquiry into police negligence.
