Lynched on suspicion of theft, Dalit man's family refuses cremation till demands are met

Chandigarh: The family of a Dalit man, who was thrashed to death for alleged theft of an electric water pump, is refusing to cremate the man and continues protesting before the district government hospital demanding the arrest of all suspects in the case, The Indian Express (TIE) reports. ¬¬

The man named Vinod was beaten along with his two cousins on December 14 by a group of villagers in Mirkan village of Hisar district in Haryana.

The family, who started their protests on Wednesday, was also demanding Rs 50 lakh compensation, a government job for the man's wife along with his injured cousins. They also sought 25 lakh each for the cousins while demanding arrest of 17 people accused in the case.

According to the family, some upper-caste villagers took the victims to their field on Tuesday and thrashed the trio over suspicion that they had stolen the water pump from their field.

Police told TIE that the family named 11 people initially and blamed six of them for the killing. But they named 17 people in a supplementary statement. An FIR was registered on Wednesday with charges of murder and sections SC/ST Act. Sources told TIE that four people- Inder Singh, Rajpal, Vijay and Bhagirath- were arrested so far, and more arrests were expected.

Officials have held multiple talks with the deceased's family to cremate Vinod's body. The investigation officer got changed after the family demanded.

The district administration has promised 8.5 lakh compensation for the family, and procedures to initiate 4.5 lakh from it have started too, an official source told TIE. Once the family's bank account is ready, the remaining amount will also be transferred. Also, those injured will receive 1 lakh as compensation, too, the source added.

The post-mortem was done for Vinod's body by a group of doctors, and the process was video graphed.