MONTHS AFTER an 18-year-old Dalit youth was allegedly beaten to death by upper caste men in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district for protesting against his sister’s sexual harassment, the woman died on Sunday after reportedly falling from an ambulance carrying her uncle’s body. Her death triggered protests by the Opposition Congress, which called the BJP government in the state “anti-Dalit” and demanded the removal of the Collector and Superintendent of Police of Sagar district.

In August last year, the woman’s brother was killed and portions of her house damaged allegedly by upper caste men. According to the police, the accused were mounting pressure on the brother to convince the woman to withdraw the molestation case filed against them in 2019.

On Saturday, the woman’s uncle was beaten to death by some persons over an old enmity, the police said.

“He (uncle) died of injuries sustained in a clash between two groups under Khurai police station limits,” Additional Superintendent of Police Lokesh Sinha said.

When asked if the uncle was killed due to pressure for compromise in the old case, Sinha said, “all facts would come out during the investigation”.

However, the family members of the deceased alleged that the accused had been mounting pressure on the woman’s uncle to withdraw the case. “There was constant pressure on us, but we did not withdraw the case. Our brother was killed and we could not let that go… Then they killed our uncle on Saturday. My sister and the uncle’s parents had left from Sagar with the body in an ambulance, when she fell from the van,” another brother of the deceased woman told The Indian Express.

The family members of the Woman have alleged that she died as the door of the ambulance was left open.