Bhawanipatna: Residents of Dunguripadar, about 8 km from here in Kalahandi district, abandoned their houses and fled the village Tuesday, following a violent clash between tribals and Dalits over the kidnapping of a tribal girl by the sarpanch’s husband.
Daktar Harpal, husband of sarpanch Dahana Harpal, of Thuapadar panchayat under this block, is accused of having an affair with a girl of Gond tribal community and kidnapping her.
An eerie silence prevailed in the village as tribals and Dalits, fearing arrest, fled leaving behind a few women and children.
Even a day after the clash tension was palpable in the area with a platoon of armed forces deployed in the village.
Meanwhile, Sadar police registered six cases in this connection and made attempts to bring back peace in the village.
Observers claimed that Monday‘s clash between the two groups was an outburst of repressed anger of tribals which they had long been nursing against Daktar Harpal.
Daktar being the sarpanch’s husband used to call the shots in every work of the panchayat and ran a reign of terror in the area. He used to harass and assault people and was also accused of implicating them in false cases at slightest pretext.
He is also accused of misappropriating lakhs of rupees under Indira Awas Yojana, old-age and widow pension schemes and rations card distribution.
Daktar was unpopular among tribals who nursed a grudge against him after he kidnapped the tribal girl a fortnight ago.
The incident triggered tension between the communities. He returned with girl Saturday but his son prevented him from entering his house. Following this, he stayed along with the girl at his younger brother Raidhar Harpal’s house.
His return, however, triggered resentment among the tribals. As a result, over 200 tribal men and women carrying sharp-edged weapons and beating drums sacrificed a billy goat at their religious site and marched towards the Dalit Pada shouting slogans.
There they ransacked the houses of the accused and his three brothers – Dwarpal, Goutam and Raidhar before torching a tractor, a Mahindra Bolero and three motorcycles. The situation soon escalated into a full-fledged clash between tribals and Dalits.
Over 20 persons from both sides including four policemen were rendered critical in the clash.
SP Brijesh Kumar Ray rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation while sub-collector Sukant Tripathy and tehsildar Satyasundar Rout are camping in the village and monitoring the situation. PNN
