On July 20, in the district of Jalore, Rajasthan, a Dalit (Lower-Caste) student studying in the third grade drank from a pot of water that allegedly belonged to an upper caste school teacher. This made the teacher so furious that he thrashed the child and needed to be hospitalized. On August 13, the boy succumbed to his injuries. The incident has caused societal and political turmoil in India.
The nine-year-old Dalit boy named Indra Meghwal was a student of a private school in Surana village in Jalore district. The child became another victim of the prejudice that the people of the lower-caste face in India. What led to his death was the brutal thrashing he got for "defiling" a vessel of water from which only the higher-caste teachers of the school drink. The victim's parents said the boy had severe wounds on his eye and was bleeding from an ear. He couldn’t seem to move one side of his body. He was taken to seven different hospitals and finally admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad but did not survive.
The news of a 9 year old dalit child being thrashed in a school leading to his death in Rajasthan's jalore dist is horrifying. His crime-drank water from the pot meant for "upper caste".
What makes one believe that they are superior by birth and others inferior to them? pic.twitter.com/GVkdl4qDKE— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) August 13, 2022
The perpetrator, forty-year-old Chail Singh, was soon arrested and charged with murder under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Jalore Superintendent of Police Harsh Vardhan Agarwalla said, "We have registered an FIR under relevant sections, including murder (IPC) and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The boy's postmortem will be conducted, and a police team has been sent to Ahmedabad. Further investigation is being conducted,"
Meghwal's family is understandably distraught with the passing of their child. Dewaram Meghwal, the boy's father, said the attack was caste motivated. He noted that Indra didn't know that the pot he drank from was only meant for his upper-caste teacher.
Meghwal said, "There was bleeding from his ear, and thereafter, he couldn't move one side of his body. His eye was sore, and we admitted him to hospitals in Jalore, Bhinmal, Udaipur before he was referred to Ahmedabad. My son passed away today [Saturday] afternoon. Caste discrimination is responsible for his death,"
Meghwal has claimed that the school lied about the incident. The school authorities said that the boy was fighting his classmates and was beaten up. The school also claimed that the boy was terminally ill.
A relative of the student said, "The family said there was no fight between the students. It was all about the water pitcher (matka). The school authorities are under pressure from upper caste Thakurs. They are now claiming the deceased had a previous ear injury, which is a pure lie,"
The victim's family also claimed that the state administration had forcefully conducted a quick funeral for the child. The family could not even wait for their relatives to arrive for the mourning. The family accused the local police of attacking them in an attempted cover-up.
The chief minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, said, "The accused teacher has been arrested, and a case has been registered against him for murder and under sections of the SC/ST Act. The matter has been taken under the case officer scheme for speedy investigation and punishment for the accused. It will be ensured that the victim's family gets justice at the earliest. The family members of the deceased will be given a relief amount of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister's relief fund,"
