A 28-year-old Dalit woman from a village in Pilibhit district has alleged that she was abused with casteist slurs, beaten and molested inside her home in front of her paralysed husband. Police said the incident took place around 8 pm on Friday, and an FIR was registered on Saturday morning.
According to the complaint, the woman had approached the Bareilly divisional commissioner on October 8, accusing a farmer from her village of obtaining an income certificate through irregular means. She alleged that despite owning more than five acres of agricultural land, a fishery farm and two tractors, the accused had secured an income certificate showing his annual income as only Rs 45,000.
Police said that after an inquiry was ordered into her complaint, the accused and his two adult sons allegedly entered her house in retaliation. The woman stated that the main accused pushed her to the ground, assaulted her and used criminal force with the intention of outraging her modesty. She also alleged that the men hurled caste based abuses and threatened her with serious consequences.
The woman further told the police that the dispute was also linked to the selection of an ASHA worker in the village. She and the accused’s daughter had both applied for the post last year. However, her application was rejected and the accused’s daughter was selected in April this year. She said she had been keen to get the job to support her family, especially as her husband is paralysed.
Station House Officer Vipin Shukla said the three accused have been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC ST Act. “The accused have been charged with house trespass, intentional insult, causing hurt, criminal force against a woman, criminal intimidation and relevant provisions of the SC ST Act,” he said, adding that the investigation is currently underway.
