In an incident three-days ago, a Dalit couple of Panchawati-4, Bohoribot, had been ostracised publicly and subjected to verbal abuse by people of the so-called upper caste communities.

The victims, Dhurba Bahadur Sarki and his wife Madhumaya, were verbally abused and shunned by local Raju Ruwale Magar, 40, and Madhav Ruwale Magar, according to Bishnu Bahadur, the son of the Dalit couple.

The Dalit couple had gone to the house of one Bhakta Bahadur Rana Magar to attend a chewar (a traditional initiation ceremony) of latter’s grandson three days ago. However, despite being invited to attend the ceremony, the couple was subjected to severe humiliation by the Magar duo, accusing them of being “untouchables” who would ruin the ceremony. They also ridiculed the Dalit couple, and told them that they had no right of attend the function.  

Bishnu said the Magar duo had again come to their house and misbehaved with his parents over the same issue on January 31, following which he had filed the complaint with the police against the Magar duo. In his statement, Bishnu has claimed that the Magar duo had threatened to expel them from the village itself, saying that Dalits should limit themselves into the confines of social strata as defined by the society.

Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act (2011) bans caste-based discrimination, provisioning tough punishment for those following anti-human practices.