Days after a 9-year-old Dalit boy succumbed to his injuries in the Jalore district of Rajasthan, the State Child Rights Commission ruled out the caste angle from the case, reported The Times of India.
Following a visit to the school, a member of the Commission met with the teachers and students to confirm the details of the incident. While filing the report, the member (Shiv Bhagwan Naga) emphasised that a fight had broken out between the deceased Inder Meghwal and another student named Mangalram over a drawing book.
The accused teacher, identified as one Chail Singh, had intervened and slapped both the students. This aspect was corroborated by the district administration and the block education officer.
A twist in tale. The panel found that the teachers slapped the students because of a squabble over a drawing book, and there was no pitcher of water that the boy is supposed to have touched, no evidence of caste angle in the Dalit boy’s death. #Rajasthan https://t.co/pym72C2ZTS
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) August 20, 2022
The deceased student fell on the ground after being slapped and sustained injuries to his eye and an ear. The State Child Rights Commission emphasised that there was no drinking water pot in the school, thereby rubbishing the initial claim that Inder Meghwal was beaten by an ‘upper caste teacher’ for touching the water pot.
According to Shiv Bhagwan Naga, all students used a common water tank to quench their thirst.
The Background of the Case
According to authorities, Inder Meghwal was beaten up Chail Singh at the Saraswati Vidya Mandir on July 20 this year. He remained under medical care until August 13, when he finally succumbed to his injuries.
The police charged Singh with murder and under relevant provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The victim’s father Devaram Meghwal had alleged that the accused hurled casteist slurs at Inder for drinking water from an earthen pot, supposedly intended for upper caste people.
Inder’s father also stated that his son suffered damage to his right ear and eye as a result of Singh’s assault. At that time, some locals had pointed out that the claim about caste discrimination was false.
They clarified that there was only one common water tank and dismissed reports about the existence of separate water tanks for ‘upper-caste’ and ‘lower caste people.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had recently courted controversy for downplaying the severity of the incident. He had said, “These kinds of incidents happen in every state. If you watch TV or read the newspapers, you know that these incidents happen everywhere.”
