Madhya Pradesh shocker: Dalit man beaten to death over petty dispute; tension erupts between 2 villages

BHOPAL: A 35-year-old Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death by neighbours in Bhind district on Saturday evening following an altercation over petty monetary and other disputes, sparking tension between two nearby villages.The incident occurred around 6:30 pm within Daboh police station area, approximately 65 km from the district headquarters. The deceased, identified as Rudra Pratap Singh Jatav, was attacked with sticks by a group of men from the neighbouring village. Police stated that the deceased and the accused had an old enmity and had a history of minor disputes and verbal altercations.Additional SP Bhind, Sanjeev Kumar Pathak, told TOI, "They had fights in the past, too. The deceased lived in Raipura village while the accused lived in nearby Raniya village. Primary investigation has revealed that the accused, who are from the Kaurav community, have a shop in the village, and due to some petty monetary transactions, there were small disputes between the deceased and the accused. It escalated into a big fight on Saturday evening around 6:30 pm, leading to the murder,"Jatav was initially rushed to a local hospital and later referred to Gwalior but he succumbed to his injuries en route. Following Jatav’s death, tension escalated as the victim’s relatives and villagers vandalised a house belonging to one of the accused and set ablaze parked vehicles. Cops said a search is on for accused and the situation was brought under control. “No one from the accused side has so far complained of any vandalism,” he said.