Dalit woman assaulted, stopped from fetching water from well in Ranchi; five booked

A case has been registered against five people, including four members of a family, for allegedly assaulting a Dalit woman, subjecting her to casteist slurs and preventing her from fetching water from their well in Ranchi, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on October 10 in Sector 2 of HEC Smart City, under the jurisdiction of Jagannathpur police station.

The woman, identified as Manju Choudhary, filed a police complaint the same day, a senior officer said.

The officer said the accused family also filed a police complaint on Monday, accusing the woman of assaulting them.

“Based on the woman’s application, we registered a case under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and BNS against Amrendra Kumar, his wife Remi Devi, their two sons and another person.

“The complainant alleged that the five persons, who live near her home, were not allowing her to fetch water from their well since July 23 and they assaulted her on October 10 and used casteist slurs against her,” Jagannathpur police station officer-in-charge Nitin Kumar Singh told PTI.

Police subsequently launched an investigation and found that the well was located on the premises of Amrendra’s house, the officer said.

However, police are investigating allegations of humiliation and assault, and appropriate action will be taken against the accused once the probe is completed, he added.

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