Shruti Suman
Urinated on his face twice when asked for water: Dalit Labourer
Locked in a room at MLA House for two hours
New Delhi, August 10, 2023
In a press conference organised at the Press Club of India in Delhi, Raju Prasad Nayak, a Dalit landless labourer from Jamwa Ramgarh, Rajasthan, has requested help to save his life. Raju Prasad said that he has been receiving life threats since he spoke out against the torture and injustice he faced. The local MLA Gopal Meena and police officers, including a Deputy SP rank , have been forcing him to drop the case and settle the matter. Raju Nayak said, “I was working in the fields of Param Land Base India Private Limited when the police officers came and started beating me for no reason.” He was then taken in a police vehicle to the residence of the MLA Gopal Meena.
Raju shared his ordeal to media and mentioned that he was severely tortured without any fault. He was urinated on twice, and he was subjected to caste-related abuses repeatedly. Raju said that he is a labourer and had gone to work in the fields on June 30. After sometime, a group of police personnels, including a Deputy SP rank officer, took him away and one of them allegedly urinated on his face twice and beat him for two hours while he was locked in a room at MLA ‘s house. He accused Deputy SP Shivkumar Bharadwaj of humiliating him with physical and verbal abuses. He claimed that he asked for water to drink, in reply Deputy SP Shivkumar Bharadwaj allegedly urinated on his face. He further said that MLA Gopal Meena forced him to lick his shoes.
Raju Prasad Nayak said, “The suffering I have gone through in past days is beyond my wildest of dreams. No one should go through such humiliation and sufferings . I demand strict action against the culprits and ensure the safety of me and my friends.”
Two of his friends, Shubham and Bhawani Shankar, who were present with him, revealed that when Raju was taken away, they followed and recorded a video. In that video, supporters of MLA Gopal Meena spotted them, they deleted the video and also assaulted them. After getting no satisfactory response from the administration in Rajasthan, they have now come to Delhi in hope to get justice. After struggling for about a month, an FIR has been registered, and that too when they sought court’s intervention.
During the press conference, the man revealed that the accused leader is Congress legislator Gopal Meena, along with other police officers, including a Deputy SP, against whom an investigation is now underway. Because of this, he is now receiving death threats. Due to the risk to his life, he is unable to return to his village. This is why he has now come in front of the media to request them protect him and take his message to CM Ashok Gehlot and PM Narendra Modi. Raju mentioned that while the video has been deleted, if the mobile locations and call details of everyone involved are traced, it will reveal who was present during the time of the abuse. This can be a crucial evidence in the case.
It is important to note that after the court’s order, cases have been filed against Jamwa Ramgarh ‘s legislator Gopal Meena, Deputy SP Shivkumar Bharadwaj, and other police officers Ramapal Sharma, Ram Milan Meena, Uday Singh, Ramkishor Sharma. Charges have been registered under sections 363, 143, 448, 323, 342, 506, 509, and the SC/ST Act, including 3(1)r, 3(1)s, 3(2)(va) clauses.
