Dalit man's death: BJP accuses MP govt of minority appeasement

The BJP on Tuesday protested over the death of a Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district and alleged the Kamal Nath government in the state was adopting a policy of minority appeasement.

Dhanprasad Ahirwar (24) was doused with kerosene in Dharmshri Colony, some 170 kilometres from here, on January 14 allegedly by four people who wanted him to take back a police complaint. All four, identified as Chhuttu, Ajju Pathan, Kallu and Irfan, were arrested.

Ahirwar, who sustained 70 percent burns, was initially treated in Sagar, then shifted to a hospital in Bhopal, and later air-lifted to a facility in New Delhi where he succumbed on January 23.

Addressing a protest rally here, former chief minister and senior BJP leader Shivarj Singh Chouhan said a mob of 20- 25 people had set Ahirwar on fire.

"These persons also wanted to kill Ahirwar in 2019 but police did not take action. It was the government's duty to arrest the accused but it did not touch them because they belong to a minority community. The voice of a poor Dalit was not heard," Chouhan alleged.

He said crimes against Dalits were rising in MP under the Kamal Nath dispensation and the party's high command, comprising Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi would have to answer.

He asked if the Gandhi family would come to Sagar to meet the kin of the deceased.

State BJP chief Rakesh Singh said Ahirwar had approached police three times claiming that his life was in danger but the police did nothing.

He said the state government should give Rs 25 lakh as compensation to Ahirwar's family as well as a job.