Rajasthan: Top district officials make fact-finding visit to Dalit family which converted to Buddhism

Kota: Top district officials of Baran in Rajasthan on Sunday made a fact-finding visit to a village where 12 members of a Dalit family converted to Buddhism last week and interacted with the family and other villagers.

The family of Rajendra Bairwa of Bhulon village in the Bapcha police station area of Baran district embraced Buddhism on Friday, allegedly upset over the assault of a family member by a man and the police’s refusal to book the husband of the village sarpanch in the matter.

The investigation into the assault case has now been transferred to an additional superintendent-level officer at the office of the inspector general of police, Kota.

Baran district collector Narendra Gupta and superintendent of police Kalyan Mal Meena visited the village on Sunday and interacted with Rajendra Bairwa, his family and other locals, an officer said.

The officer said that two locals instigated the family to convert to Buddhism.

Action is being initiated against those who provoked the family, SP Meena said, adding there was no evidence of any mass conversion.

Rajendra, 32, lodged a case of assault against Lalchand Lodha of the same village on 5 October, following which the police lodged a case under relevant sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused and arrested him.

The officer rejected the claim that the dispute between Rajendra and Lalchand was linked to worship at a village temple on Vijaya Dashami. The scuffle between them was due to personal enmity, the officer said.

The police said their investigation revealed that Rajendra, accompanied by his two brothers, had reached Lalchand Lodha’s house on the night of 5 October to avenge his assault earlier in the day.

It was also found that Rahul Sharma, the sarpanch’s husband, had reached the spot to meditate and returned home after pacifying both sides.

A few days later, Rajendra approached the police and demanded that Rahul Sharma be made an accused in the case.

The police, however, said earlier that they found no evidence against the sarpanch’s husband and added action would be taken against him if he was found involved in the matter.

The new investigating officer in the case, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, visited Bhulon village on Sunday and spoke to Rajendra and other residents.

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