MP: Dalit claims his face and body smeared with human excreta for touching OBC man with grease
Chhatarpur, Jul 22: A Dalit man has alleged that his face and body were smeared with human excreta by a man from another caste after the former accidentally touched him with grease in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The accused has been detained based on the complaint, a police official said on Saturday.
Recently, the incident of a man urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of MP caused a huge outrage after the video surfaced on social media.
A case is being registered against the accused Ramkripal Patel, who belongs to an OBC community, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, in connection with the Chhatarpur incident, a police officer told PTI on Saturday evening.
The victim Dashrath Ahirwar approached the police on Saturday, he said.
Ahirwar claimed the incident occurred when he was engaged in the construction of a drain for the Panchayat in Bikaura village, about 35 km from the Chhatarpur district headquarters, on Friday.
He said the accused, Ramkripal Patel, was bathing at a nearby hand pump.
Ahirwar claimed he touched Patel with the grease he was using in the construction work by mistake.
"After that, Patel brought human faeces lying nearby in a mug he was using for bathing and smeared it on my body including head and face," he claimed while speaking to reporters near Maharajpur police station.
He claimed Patel abused him on the caste line.
"I reported the matter to the panchayat and called for a meeting. Instead, the panchayat imposed a fine of Rs 600 on me on Friday," Ahirwar alleged.
Queried why he didn't lodge a complaint with police on Friday, Ahirwar claimed he could not have abandoned the work midway.
"A case is being registered against Ramkripal Patel under sections 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act," Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Manmohan Singh Baghel said.
Baghel said when Ahirwar was working with others, they were joking with Patel who was bathing nearby.
"They were hurling things at each other playfully when Ahirwar put grease on Patel's hand. Thereafter, Patel picked up human excreta with hand and threw it on Ahirwar's back," the police officer said.
Ahirwar approached the police on Saturday with a complaint, Baghel said.
Queried on Ahirwar's claim on Panchayat, Baghel said he didn't have any information.
Police said the accused and the victim are in the age group of 40 to 45.
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Delhi sees 140 per cent rise in fire calls in April as city reels under intense heat
New Delhi (PTI): As temperatures climb across the national capital, fire incidents have surged sharply, with the Delhi Fire Services responding to over 3,200 calls this month until April 26, even as daily calls have risen by around 140 per cent compared to the pre-April period.
Before April, the department was receiving around 70 to 80 calls daily, which has now increased to nearly 190 to 200 calls per day, especially since last Monday, amid the ongoing spell of heat, an official said.
"Heat alone is not the only factor, but it is certainly a major contributing one," a DFS official told PTI, adding that as temperatures rise, the load on electrical infrastructure increases significantly.
"Air conditioners run continuously, wiring heats up, and transformers operate under stress, which raises the chances of short circuits and fire incidents," the official explained.
The official further added that the weather is also extremely dry at this time, which compounds the vulnerability, making even a small spark dangerous.
Once a fire starts, it tends to spread faster than usual under such conditions, he said.
"We do observe a seasonal rise in fire incidents during summer months every year, but this time the increase has been sharper," the official underscored, adding that the combination of sustained high temperatures, dry winds and increased power usage is making the situation more challenging.
"Our teams are on alert and responding to a significantly higher volume of calls on a daily basis," the official emphasised.
The spike in fire calls comes as Delhi continues to reel under high temperatures, fluctuating between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius in recent days.
On April 25, the city recorded a maximum of 42.8 degrees Celsius, 5.1 degrees above normal, making it the highest April temperature recorded in the last four years, since 2022 when the mercury had reached 43.5 degrees Celsius on April 28.
On Monday, at Safdarjung, the city’s base station, the maximum temperature was recorded at 42.3 degrees Celsius, 3.3 degrees above normal, making it the second-hottest day of the month.
Palam also recorded a maximum of 42.3 degrees Celsius, about 2.1 degrees above normal, while Lodhi Road logged 42.4 degrees Celsius, about 4.4 degrees above normal.
The Ridge station recorded the highest maximum at 43.8 degrees Celsius, about 4.3 degrees above normal, followed by Ayanagar at 43.2 degrees Celsius, around 3.7 degrees above normal.
However, some respite is expected in the coming days, with the weather office forecasting thunderstorms, gusty winds and light rain from Tuesday onwards, which could bring a dip in temperatures next week.
