Dragged by Hair, Clothes Torn: Dalit Woman Brutalized in Bhagalpur Police Raid – No Female Officers Present

Bhagalpur, Bihar— A police raid conducted by Lalmatiya police station in the Nathnagar Pasi Tola area of Bhagalpur district has triggered massive outrage among the local residents. Villagers allege that during the raid, which took place around 8 PM on Sunday night, police officers assaulted women, children, and men without any justification.

Rajni Bharti, a resident of the locality who now lives in Delhi, told The Mooknayak, “My mother has a fractured leg, and my sister Jyoti Bharti (52) had gone to look after her. That night, the police raided our neighborhood and began beating up women and children. When my sister stepped outside and protested, the police dragged her away and assaulted her.”

“All the officers—from the inspector to the sub-inspector—are from the Bhumihar caste. They hurled vulgar abuses at the women. When my sister asked them to stop, they became furious and said, ‘How dare people from a lower caste question us?’ About an hour later, they returned, grabbed her by the hair, dragged her to the police station, and kept her in custody all night. Her clothes were torn, and she was left almost naked,” Rajni further alleged.

Rajni also mentioned that her house is in the same area where the police carried out the raid, although she currently resides in Delhi. “My brother informed me about the incident. The police have now filed an attempt-to-murder case against my sister. Is this how you treat an elderly woman—by humiliating her and dragging her to the police station simply because she questioned them for beating women and children? She is still in police custody. Around 15–20 people were arrested, all of them from the Dalit community,” she added.

Gunjan Kumari, a minor who was present during the raid, tearfully recounted to a journalist that she saw a police officer kick her mother multiple times. Her emotional breakdown while narrating the incident reflects the trauma inflicted on the community.

Notably, no female police officers were present during the raid. All actions were carried out by male officers, which has fueled further anger, particularly due to the allegations of manhandling and verbal abuse of women.

Prema Devi, who was injured during the police action, stated, “They forcibly broke into our home and beat everyone. I was hit with batons two or three times. My brother-in-law was beaten so severely that his leg is broken.”

Even bystanders weren’t spared. Ashok Chaudhary, who was standing at his grocery shop, said he suffered injuries to his hand due to police beating, despite having no connection to the incident.

Bhagalpur City DSP-2, Rakesh Kumar, addressed the media and stated, “The raid was conducted at the residence of Ravi Chaudhary in Pasi Tola following a tip-off about liquor storage. When the police arrived, the family members allegedly pelted stones at the officers, resulting in minor injuries to three of our personnel.”

When journalists asked the DSP whether public anger erupted after a girl was slapped by the police during the raid, he avoided a direct response and said, “I do not have information about that.”