MP: Youth beaten up by village head for opposing illegal mining; probe on

Katni, Oct 16 (IANS) A Dalit youth has claimed that he was allegedly beaten up by the village head and his aides for opposing illegal mining in Madhya Pradesh's Katni, police said on Thursday.

The youth has been identified as Rajkumar Chaudhary, a resident of Bahuriband in Katni district, alleged that village head Ramanuj Pandey had beaten him brutally and his nephew allegedly urinated on him.

Chaudhary also alleged that when his mother tried to intervene in the matter, Pandey and his aides, who were involved in illegal mining, thrashed her and hurled abuses.

The incident occurred a few days ago and it came to light on Thursday when Chaudhary lodged a written complaint against the village head and his aides to Karni's Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Santosh Dehariya.

After submitting his complaint to ASP Dehariya, Chaudhary, while talking to IANS, claimed the village head Ramanuj Pandey and his aides, who are involved in illegal mining, beat him up when he tried to stop him.

The victim claimed that after the attack, he ran away and was admitted to the Katni hospital.

He stayed there for three days due to severe injuries, including serious pain in his head and body.

"They insulted me by hurling caste abuses, and one of the Sarpanch's men even urinated on me. I wanted to die after this incident, but I decided to tell this incident to senior police officials," Choudhary added.

He also said that the police have recorded his complaint and instructed the local police station to take action against the accused persons.

ASP Dehariya, while talking to media persons, said that the police have received the complaint and the local area police have been instructed to conduct an inquiry into the matter.

--IANS

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