SIRAHA, JULY 24

A group of people, including the son of a suspended mayor of Kalyanpur Municipality, thrashed a Dalit woman and her son in Kalyanpur Municipality-3, Siraha, last night. A group of people, including the inebriated suspended mayor Suryanath Mandal's son Dinesh Mandal and the mayor's nephew Rahek Mandal, thrashed Kripal Mahara's wife Sita Devi Mahara, 40, and her son Jitendra Mahara, 16.

Locals said the group of people had beaten the mother and son black and blue at 11:00 pm. It is learnt that the inebriated people had hurled stones at the Dalit settlement at night. When the victim's mother inquired who were hurling the stones, they had manhandled Sita Devi and her son and thrashed them mercilessly. Injured Jitendra Mahara said her mother was dragged out of home and thrashed mercilessly. "When I retaliated, they thrashed me as well," said Jitendra. The injured mother and son are being treated at a health facility in Kalyanpur. The victims' family members and relatives complained that their pleas had fallen on deaf ears as Kalyanpur Area Police Office refused to file their complaints. Kalyanpur police, however, said that police were investigating the incident. Dalit rights activist and Dalit Awareness Centre Nepal, Golbazaar, Siraha, Secretary Sanjay Mahara demanded a fair investigation into the incident. Mayor Suryanath Mandal was suspended after a graft case was filed against him at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority.