Dalit family stopped from using crematorium's platform for last rites of kin in MP; 3 held

A Dalit family was allegedly stopped by some people from performing the last rites of a relative on an elevated platform at a cremation ground in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district, following which police arrested three persons, an official said on Monday.

The family later performed the funeral on land near the platform.

The incident took place on Friday in Chandpur village under the Kumbhraj police station area, 62 km from the Guna district headquarters, and a video of it also surfaced on social media.

In the clip, a person was purportedly heard saying the family was not allowed to use the cremation ground’s platform for the funeral.

After the death of local resident Kanhaiya Ahirwar (70), his family members took the body to the cremation ground, but three persons from the village allegedly stopped them from performing the last rites on the facility’s platform, Kumbhraj police station in charge Sanjeet Mawai said.

The family then performed the man’s last rites on land near the crematorium’s platform, he said. After getting information about the matter, the police reached the spot. The police later arrested three persons, identified as Narayan Singh Meena, Rambharose Meena, and Dilip Meena, and registered a case against them under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the official said.

The accused were on Saturday produced in a court which sent them to jail, he added.