MP Dalit man set ablaze by 4 battles for life, Cong-BJP fight

The Congress and the BJP in Madhya Pradesh hit out at each other after a 24-year-old Dalit man was set ablaze in Sagar district on Tuesday.

Dhanprasad Ahirwar was doused in kerosene and set on fire by his neighbours Chhuttu, Ajju Pathan, Kallu and Irfan, and is battling for life in Bhopal's Hamidia Hospital with over 70 per cent burns, Motinagar police station in charge Sangita Singh said on Saturday.

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Ahirwar had filed a police complaint over a dispute and the accused were forcing him to take it back, Singh said, adding that Chhuttu, Ajju Pathan, Kallu and Irfan had been arrested. Leader of Opposition in the MP Assembly Gopal Bhargava visited Ahirwar in Hamidia Hospital and claimed crimes against Dalits were increasing under the Kamal Nath government. State BJP president Rakesh Singh said Ahirwar had told police three times that his life was in danger but he got no help from the authorities.

He said police did not act on Ahirwar's apprehensions because of the Congress-led government's vote-bank politics and policy of appeasement. "Though 15-20 people set Ahirwar on fire, only four have been arrested. This is because of appeasement," he added.

The MP Congress, meanwhile, hit out at the BJP and said it was giving a communal colour to every issue. "The BJP needs to change its perception of seeing communal politics in every issue. This is a criminal case and the police have arrested the accused immediately," MP Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said.

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