Minister justifies atrocity on Dalit widow in Satara

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation department, Laxmanrao Dhoble, tried to justify the alleged attack on a Dalit widow by saying that the anger of the family was natural.

The 42-year-old victim was allegedly stripped naked, paraded, tied to a tree and beaten up by members of an upper caste family in Mulgaon village of Patan taluka in Satara district on Monday.

After the comment, the Dalit Mahasangh burned an effigy of Dhoble outside Krishna Charitable Hospital in Karad, where the woman is being treated.

On Friday, after visiting the victim, who belongs to the Matang community, Dhoble told the media that the incident had been exaggerated.

“The outburst of the girl’s family is natural. The facts are being twisted to create an environment of suspicion and distrust between the two communities,” Dhoble said.

The widow was attacked after her 21-year-old son eloped from the village last month with his 18-year-old girlfriend, who belongs to upper caste Maratha community. Five people have been arrested in the case, and the state government has already ordered an inquiry.