Girl in oven for road ‘crime’ (The Telegraph (Calcutta))
"An eight-year-old Dalit girl was set on fire in a Mathura village for crossing a road used by upper castes.
"Kamalesh, the daughter of Saudam Jatav, a landless Dalit, is fighting for her life in hospital.
"Deputy superintendent of police Bireswar Mishra said the child took the road while returning home last evening with cattle.
"Madan Singh alias Sunil, a Thakur [Bengali brahmin] through whose land the road passes, spotted Kamalesh and started screaming at her.
"'He came running and began yelling at her. He asked her to leave the road. ‘This road is not for you,’ he kept repeating,' the DSP said.
"When the girl refused to budge, Sunil dragged her to an oven meant to boil sugarcane juice and pushed her into it."
See also:
Police don't treat Kamlesh's case as caste violence (CNN-IBN, May 1, 2008):
"Incidentally, Kamlesh is from the same Jatav community as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
"The police have arrested one person in connection with the case, but they are not categorising the incident as caste violence, something that villagers in Tarauli are living with.
"Other villagers have said that though the police appear, they take money and hurl abuses at Dalits, taunting them.
"'They say we have the arrogance of Mayawati,' said a villager while another added, 'This is how we have spent our lives here.'
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