Skip to main content

Adivasi youth dies in police custody: Arrest of accused cops sought

By A Representative 

In a tragic and disturbing incident, a young Adivasi man, Dharmendra Dangore, died in police custody under suspicious circumstances at the Pandhana police station in Khandwa district. On Thursday, his family members, accompanied by tribal and Dalit organizations from Khandwa, Khargone, and Burhanpur, marched to the Khandwa Superintendent of Police (SP) office to demand immediate arrest and prosecution of the police officers responsible for the alleged custodial killing.
Organizations including the Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS), Adivasi Ekta Parishad, Bharat Adivasi Party, and the Tantya Mama Bhil Samaj Seva Mission submitted a memorandum calling for a murder case to be registered against the involved officers and for the victim’s family to be granted security and compensation. Despite these demands, the administration only offered verbal assurances of a judicial inquiry, prompting the organizations to warn of a mass tribal uprising in the Nimar region if no swift action is taken.
According to the family, the incident began on the night of 21 August 2024 at around 9:30 PM, when police personnel from Pandhana station forcibly entered Dharmendra's home and took him away without any arrest warrant, case, or prior notice. Dharmendra, a local mason, had no criminal record. His wife, Ranu Bai, was neither informed about his arrest nor allowed to meet him the following day.
Over the next two days, Dharmendra was allegedly subjected to repeated physical abuse. The police took him to two villages — Nemit and Diwal — where illegal house searches were conducted without a warrant or witnesses. His family claims police took ₹2,000 from Dharmendra, telling them, "We’ll buy liquor with this and kill him tonight."
Despite several pleas, the family was denied access to Dharmendra. Ranu Bai later saw five police personnel brutally beating him with iron rods. That night, police claimed Dharmendra committed suicide by hanging himself with a bedsheet inside the station. However, his family was not informed until the next morning, and they were not allowed to witness the post-mortem.
Villagers who were present during the post-mortem reported severe injuries on Dharmendra's body: blackened soles from beatings, crushed left foot, flat lathi marks on his thigh, bruises on his back and shoulders, broken fingers, and visible contusions on his arms and ribs. A large wound was also found on the back of his head and neck.
This case raises serious questions: Dharmendra was picked up illegally without adhering to Supreme Court guidelines (D.K. Basu judgment), detained without court presentation, and tortured in custody. The manner of his death and the nature of his injuries suggest custodial murder rather than suicide.
Madhya Pradesh has increasingly become a hotspot for atrocities against Adivasi communities. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the state recorded 2,979 cases of crimes against Adivasis in 2022 — the highest in the country — averaging eight incidents daily.
Disturbingly, this is the third case of custodial death of an Adivasi in the Khandwa-Khargone region in just three years. Despite inquiries in previous cases (2021), no substantial action was taken. Only weeks ago, a Pardhi youth died in police custody in Guna district, once again highlighting the impunity enjoyed by police forces.
The consistent failure of the Madhya Pradesh government to act on such cases is being seen as a deliberate encouragement of custodial torture and extrajudicial brutality against marginalized communities. Unless justice is served in Dharmendra Dangore’s case, tribal organizations have warned, the region will witness an unprecedented wave of resistance.

Comments

TRENDING

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

What's behind Donald Trump's 'narco-state' accusation against Venezuela

By Manolo De Los Santos  The US government has revived its campaign to label Venezuela a "narco-state", accusing its top leadership of drug trafficking and slapping hefty bounties on their heads for capture. This campaign, which only momentarily took a backseat, is a strategic fabrication, not a factual assessment. This accusation, particularly amplified under the Trump Administration, is a calculated smokescreen to justify a long-standing agenda: the overthrow of the Venezuelan government and the seizure of its vast oil and mineral resources. A closer examination of the facts reveals a country that has actively fought drug trafficking on its own terms and a US government with a clear and consistent history of destabilizing independent countries in Latin America.

1857 War of Independence... when Hindu-Muslim separatism, hatred wasn't an issue

"The Sepoy Revolt at Meerut", Illustrated London News, 1857  By Shamsul Islam* Large sections of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs unitedly challenged the greatest imperialist power, Britain, during India’s First War of Independence which began on May 10, 1857; the day being Sunday. This extraordinary unity, naturally, unnerved the firangees and made them realize that if their rule was to continue in India, it could happen only when Hindus and Muslims, the largest two religious communities were divided on communal lines.

Two more "aadhaar-linked" Jharkhand deaths: 17 die of starvation since Sept 2017

Kaleshwar's sons Santosh and Mantosh Counterview Desk A fact-finding team of the Right to Feed Campaign, pointing towards the death of two more persons due to starvation in Jharkhand, has said that this has happened because of the absence of aadhaar, leading to “persistent lack of food at home and unavailability of any means of earning.” It has disputed the state government claims that these deaths are due to reasons other than starvation, adding, the authorities have “done nothing” to reduce the alarming state of food insecurity in the state.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Ground reality: Israel would a remain Jewish state, attempt to overthrow it will be futile

By NS Venkataraman*  Now that truce has been arrived at between Israel and Hamas for a period of four days and with release of a few hostages from both sides, there is hope that truce would be further extended and the intensity of war would become significantly less. This likely “truce period” gives an opportunity for the sworn supporters and bitter opponents of Hamas as well as Israel and the observers around the world to introspect on the happenings and whether this war could have been avoided. There is prolonged debate for the last several decades as to whom the present region that has been provided to Jews after the World War II belong. View of some people is that Jews have been occupants earlier and therefore, the region should belong to Jews only. However, Christians and those belonging to Islam have also lived in this regions for long period. While Christians make no claim, the dispute is between Jews and those who claim themselves to be Palestinians. In any case...

Fate of Yamuna floodplain still hangs in "balance" despite National Green Tribunal rap on Sri Sri event

By Ashok Shrimali* While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday reportedly pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for granting permission to hold spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival on the banks of Yamuna, the chief petitioners against the high-profile event Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan has declared, the “fate of the floodplain still hangs in balance.”