Shocking scenes in the Guna of Madhya Pradesh after cops attacked a couple of farmers.
Madhya Pradesh:
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted today on a tragic video from Madhya Pradesh, the state where his party lost power to the BJP after a similar rebellion earlier this year. The video of a Dalit couple attacked by the police for trying to prevent the destruction of their crops by the financial officers aroused widespread indignation and calls for action.
“Our fight is against this mentality and this injustice,” tweeted Rahul Gandhi in Hindi with the video of Guna, the stronghold of Jyotiraditya Scindia, his former assistant whose passage at the BJP in March led to the collapse of Congress in the State.
हमारी लड़ाई इसी सोच और अन्याय के ख़िलाफ़ है। pic.twitter.com/egGjgY5Awm
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 16, 2020
The couple in the video drank pesticide on Tuesday in a suicide attempt after being forced to watch their crops destroyed by finance ministry officials because the government-owned land was being reclaimed for a college.
The disturbing images show the couple being dragged and beaten by a large number of police officers on a field. Their children witness the assault and try to hang on to their parents but are almost repelled by the cops.
Ram Kumar Ahirwar (38) and Savitri Devi (35) – reportedly stable in a government-run hospital.
Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted that the incident was under investigation. “The Guna SP (police superintendent) and the collector were dismissed and an investigation has been requested into the incident. I am confident that measures will be taken against all those responsible for this heinous act,” said the member of Rajya Sabha and former deputy of Guna.
The government claims that the plot on which the couple cultivated was part of 5.5 acres of public land set aside for a university building. Ram Kumar Ahirwar and Savitri Devi claimed that they cultivated there for years and had paid Rs 3 lakh for the land.
“We don’t know who it is. We have been growing there for a long time. When our standing crop has been destroyed, we have no choice but to kill ourselves,” said Savitri Devi.
A team from the public revenue department, accompanied by cops, visited the field on Tuesday to evict the couple and begin construction of a surrounding wall. The couple resisted, which led to the filmed assault.
Ram Ahirwar and his wife were charged by the police. The cops who assaulted them received a heavy blow.
“We investigated the entire episode and checked the footage. Our team only acted after the couple had used pesticides and had to be rushed to hospital,” said S Vishwanath, collector from Guna district, adding: “If the team had not acted, the couple could have died and more cases could have occurred.”
Mr. Vishwanath has since been fired.
