Five booked for alleged casteist slur in Maluka

Five Maluka residents were booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) Prevention of Atrocities Act after a woman complained of casteism by them saying they asked her to sit and eat separately while pinpointing to her caste. The accused were identified as Raghbir Singh, Jagsir Singh, Swarna, Lakha Singh and Kuldeep Kaur, all residents of Maluka village in Bathinda district.

The woman who allegedly faced the casteist slur, had filed a complaint to the police that during a festival function organised by Raghbir Singh at the Maluka village, two separate tents were installed for the general and SC/ST community. “When I picked a plate to eat lunch, Kuldeep Kaur snatched the plate and told me that the arrangement for the lower caste is on the other side. Swarna and Jagsir also said the same thing that arrangement for your caste is on another side. Raghbir even announced from the stage that the girls belonging to SC/ST community should step down from the stage,” she added.

Deputy superintendent of police Aaswant Singh Dhaliwal said that a case was registered under SC/ST Act following a complaint filed by a woman claiming the accused made casteist remarks. “The accused appeared before the police today and refuted the allegations. In their statement, they claim they have not made any comments regarding a particular cast or pointed out them to treat inferior. We are investigating the case and trying to recover if there is any video or audio of the incident available. Further, we will talk with the people, who were present at the function at that time,” Dhaliwal added. A case under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 3 of SC/ST Act was registered at Dayalpura police station.