Dalit Man Asks For Wages, Gets Thrashed, Abused With Casteist Slurs In Bihar

A Dalit man was beaten up and had casteist abuses used against him by a poultry farm owner and his son in Bihar, all because he asked them for his wages that were due. The man has alleged his employer and two other people also spat on his face and one of them urinated on him, but police said those allegations are being investigated.

On October 4, Rinku Manjhi, a daily wage labourer, who had been working for Ramesh Patel in Muzaffarpur’s Chaupar Madan village for a few days, asked him to clear his dues. This enraged Patel, who is a local strongman in addition to being a poultry farm owner, and he and a few other people thrashed Manjhi. 

A video, shot surreptitiously on a cellphone camera, shows two men pushing Manjhi to the ground and beating him up by the side of a road. 

Manjhi has alleged that, after he was thrashed, Ramesh Patel and two other people, including Patel’s son, spat on his face. Patel’s son allegedly also urinated on him. The three men then threatened to kill Manjhi if he complained to the police. 

The labourer is undergoing treatment at a hospital and Muzzafarpur (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vidya Sagar said a case was registered after they got the information about the assault on October 8. 

“Rinku Manjhi had worked for Ramesh Patel for two to four days and anybody who has done some work will expect to get their wages. According to the first information report (FIR), around 6.30 pm on October 4, Mr Manjhi was beaten up and casteist slurs were used against him. Three people have been named – Ramesh Patel, Arun Patel and Gaurav Patel. There have been no arrests yet, but raids and searches are on,” the police officer said.

To a question on the allegations of spitting and urination, he said, “We can say something about this only after an investigation is done.”