On December 12, 2022, various mainstream media houses published a story with claims that a 19-year-old Dalit man, Lalla, was assaulted by seven “upper caste” men for “accidentally touching food” at a wedding function in Naubasta area in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. The incident had reportedly taken place on December 9, 2022, in the Naubasta village under the Wazirganj police station area of the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh.
Various media outlets, both English and Hindi, like Times of India, Lallantop, Aaj Tak, The Indian Express, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala, TV9 Hindi, New 18, The Telegraph and ETV carried the news. All these mainstream media houses reported the incident as a case of ‘casteism and untouchability’.
However, when OpIndia spoke to the villagers about the incident mentioned above, we learned that it was a result of an old Kotedari dispute and had nothing to do with caste. In fact, even in the ongoing police inquiry, the caste aspect of this crime has not yet been proven.
How mainstream media gave the episode a ‘caste’ angle
According to the aforementioned mainstream media outlets, the victim’s sister Renu Kumari lodged a police complaint on December 10 in which she accused seven people in the village of assaulting and abusing her 19-year-old brother Lalla. Renu, who is a Dalit, said that the accused Sandeep Pandey, Amresh, Shravan, Saurabh, Ajit, Vimal and Ashok, all of them who are Brahmins, used casteist slurs and brutally thrashed her brother for touching the food during a wedding function arranged at the house of Sandeep Pandey.
The reports said that Renu said in her complaint that as soon as Lalla picked up a plate for himself, Sandeep and his brothers abused him and thrashed him. She added that the accused wanted them to eat after they left the wedding venue. When Lalla’s elder brother Satyapal tried to save him, they beat him up and damaged his motorcycle. It further quoted Renu as claiming that the accused barged into their house at night and attacked her brother with batons and bricks.
The media reports further stated that based on Renu Kumari’s complaint the Gonda police registered a case and booked the 7 accused under sections 147, 323, 427, 504, 506, 336 of the IPC and SC/ST Act. OpIndia is also in possession of a copy of the FIR.
On December 12, 2022, Indian Express and Lallantop published nearly identical reports on the matter. Most of these media reports stressed that no arrests had been made in the case, while only India.com reported that 4 arrests were made. However, the fact was that six suspects were granted bail by the Magistrate in IPC Section 151 (whoever knowingly joins or continues in any assembly of five or more persons likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace). These reports, in fact, reproduced everything mentioned in the FIR, quoting Renu Kumari.
‘The entire brawl started over food and an old Kotedari feud served as a trigger’: DSP tells OpIndia
The SHO of Wazirganj police station was also quoted as saying that he has been conducting an inquiry into the case. However, according to Uttar Pradesh Police guidelines, the SHO does not have the authority to investigate crimes under the SC/ST Act. DSPs conduct such investigations.
OpIndia spoke with Tarabganj Sansar Singh Rathi, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Gonda district, about the incident. DSP Rathi is in charge of this case. He stated unequivocally that there was no untouchability angle in this incident, as highlighted by various media outlets. He said that the entire brawl started over food and an old Kotedari feud in the community had served as a trigger to the December 9th incident. (For the uninitiated, a Kotedar is a government contractor who sells and distributes food products in the village under government schemes.)
The DSP went on to explain that in practically all cases in his circle area, the SC/ST Act is generally invoked in the beginning, and the police then thoroughly investigate to determine whether the matter fits under the purview of the Act or not.
He said the inquiry into the case is still ongoing, and the police are yet to file the final charge sheet.
Renu Kumari’s brother was the village’s Kotedar
Sandeep Pandey is one of the accused in the December 9, 2022 incident. According to him, Devisharan, the brother of Renu Kumari, who filed the complaint, was the Kotedar of the village. During an investigation, some government officers caught him red-handed engaging in fraudulent activities, and he was imprisoned. He was recently released after being given bail. Sandeep went on to say that Renu had filed a false complaint against him and others in order to get revenge since she believed they had tipped the government officials about her brother’s scam. “She filed a case against seven people, including myself, to seek revenge,” Sandeep added.
What was the old Kotedari feud which led to the December 9th scuffle
On August 25, 2021, Gonda’s District Supply Officer, Atul Srivastava, filed an FIR under Section 3/7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, against Renu Kumari’s brother Devisharan, the Kotedar of the village. The FIR was filed at Wazirganj Police Station. OpIndia has a copy of the FIR as well.
Following the filing of the FIR, SDM Tarabganj cancelled Devisharan’s allocation on October 13, 2021. Devisharan appealed the ruling to the commissioner of the Devipatan division. After a lengthy hearing, Commissioner IAS Rakesh Chandra Sharma stamped the decision to remove Devisharan’s quota on September 21, 2022, declaring that the SDM’s ruling was legitimate.
OpIndia has a copy of the commissioner’s order. In this order, the name of Diwakar Pandey is registered as a witness to the action. According to Sandeep Pandey, Diwakar is one of his own family members.
As per Sandeep, Devisharan was removed from the post of Kotedar and instead Aarti Pandey was inducted into the post. Aarti Pandey is also a member of his family. Amresh Pandey, who assists Aarti Pandey in running the Kotedari work in the village is also named in the complaint filed by Renu Kumari, said Sandeep.
Sandeep Pandey denounced media reports about the accused’s arrest calling them misleading. He stated that six people have been granted bail in the case of IPC 151 (disruption of peace), and that an inquiry into the SC/ST issue is ongoing. Ajit Mishra, another accused in the case, told OpIndia that he was a victim of political rivalry in the area.
A Dalit Bajrangi from Rampur Tengraha, near Naubasta, claimed to be an eyewitness to the December 9 incident. He stated in a conversation with OpIndia that Sandeep Pandey had simply asked Lalla not to touch the food with his hands. Following this, the complainant’s family started bickering with Sandeep and his brothers, he said.
The argument was over food
Sandeep Pandey stated that Renu’s brother was taking food by directly placing his hand into the bowl rather than using a spoon. ‘When we barred him from doing so, a bogus case was filed against us’, said Sandeep denying the charges of assault and vandalism. He added that the fake case was filed because of the old conflict.
It’s worth noting here that the report published by the Times of India on this incident quoted Renu Kumari as saying that they took up the case with the gram pradhan and elders in the village regarding the conduct of Sandeep and his brothers. When the accused got to know about this, they barged into their house and thrashed Lalla again and indulged in vandalism. Sandeep, however, strongly refuted the claim. He categorically stated that nothing of that sought ever happened. Sandeep alleged that those whose names are in the FIR had not cooperated with the current village Pradhan in the election, which is why the latter was against them.
