A group of upper-caste Hindus allegedly thrashed a Dalit on Wednesday at Nimone village, 72 km from Pune, for demanding that water be equally distributed among villagers.The Dalit, 35-year-old Bhagvan Mahadeo Lad, was beaten with sticks, iron rods and axes by seven men. The incident came to light when some villagers brought a badly injured Lad to Pune’s Sassoon Hospital.Later, policemen from Shirur police station recorded his complaint. However, no one has been arrested. Local police officials were not available for comment. Additional SP (Pune Rural) Suresh Kamlakar confirmed that such a case has been filed. He said he had ordered an inquiry by an officer of DSP rank into the incident.Like many others, this sleepy village on the Chauphula-Shirur Road, has been facing severe water shortage for the last few months and villagers depend on tankers.In the FIR, Lad stated that he was attacked when he insisted that the tanker must be emptied into storage tanks built by the Gram Panchayat so that there would be equal distribution of water.However, Lad alleged, the upper-caste men were against the idea and told him that the water tanker was not meant for the lower-caste people.
