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Bihar Dalit Toto Driver Killed for not Paying Puja Donation

A group of 10-15 youths had demanded a donation of Rs 1,000 for Saraswati Puja from the driver.
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Representational Image. Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Patna: A Dalit Toto driver was beaten to death by a group of youths for refusing to pay a Saraswati Puja donation in Bihar’s Nawada district on Tuesday.

Ravindar Rajvanshi (26), a resident of Asha Bigha village, was mercilessly beaten by the group till he fell unconscious on the road and died near Vijaypur village, under Sirdala Police Station.

A group of 10-15 youths with bamboo sticks stopped his Toto on Tuesday evening and forcibly demanded a donation of Rs 1,000 for Saraswati Puja. When he said that he could pay only Rs 20, they started beating him till he fell unconscious,” the victim’s brother Vinay told Newsclick on Wednesday.

We rushed him to the government Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him dead,” Vinay added.

Ravindar, Vinay and other family members were returning in the battery-operated vehicle after taking a bath and performing rituals in a river after their mother’s death a few days ago.

We never imagined a group of youths would kill my brother in the name of puja donation. It is unforgivable and the culprits must be punished,” Vinay said. The residents of Ravindar’s villagers were angry and demanded justice for the family.

According to another close relative Mahesh Kumar, “Ravindar expressed his helplessness to donate such a big amount and said that the family was mourning their mother’s death. He also said that it was against the tradition to contribute to puja. But they suffocated and beat him to death.”

Sirdala Police Station house officer Saroj Kumar told Newsclick that the “initial probe suggested that Ravindar was killed by a group of youths” from Vijaypur for not paying a heavy donation for Saraswati Puja. “It is a criminal offence, and an FIR has been lodged against four accused.”

A police team raided some places to arrest the accused and one of them has been arrested, Kumar added.Mostly jobless youths collect donations for pujas during festivals in full knowledge of the police. Local Hindi dailies have reported several instances of forcible collection of donations from drivers of trucks, buses and auto-rickshaws, owners of restaurants and shops, and roadside vendors.

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