The Bharatiya Janata Party has questioned the silence of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in the recent murder of Dalit youth Nagaraju, allegedly by his wife’s family members, for the inter-faith marriage.
“Why has not the Chief Minister or anyone from the government bothered to reach out to the grieving family and alleviate their pain? Why is there a defeaning silence from the so-called progressive organisations and Dalit outfits to this heinous crime? Where is the Home Minister? Why have the police not arrested the remaining three accused persons,” questioned party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar while talking to the media at Marpally near Vikarabad on Monday.
The Karimnagar MP on the very first day of coming to the party head office after the completion of his second phase of Praja Sangrama Yatra, decided to visit the house of slain Dalit youngster and left for Vikarabad to console Nagaraju’s family members.
Regretting that none of the people witnessing the crime on the busy road tried to rescue the Dalit youth even as he was being repeatedly hit with an iron rod and stabbed indiscriminately by his wife’s brother and brother-in-law, the BJP leader appealed to people to “help people in danger or distress rather than record the same on the mobile phones.”
“It is very unfortunate that no none tried to help Nagaraju. I appeal to the youth to save lives first before recording them,” said a visibly upset Mr. Sanjay Kumar. The “inhuman” KCR government has not taken any steps so far on the National Commission of Scheduled Castes recommendation to provide a job and ₹8.5 lakh ex-gratia to the bereaved family, he charged and accused the official machinery of being “lethargic” in responding to their needs.
“This is not the first time a person is being killed for marrying a woman from the minority community. What is the government doing to curb these kind of crimes? Why did it not send the case to a fast track court? This regime is totally scared of Majlis party leaders, hence maintaining a sepulchral silence,” he alleged.
The BJP chief was of the opinion that this was no “ordinary honour crime” but which involved “extremist elements with an aim to instil fear in the majority community” and demanded the government to respond to the grieving family’s demand for death penalty to the perpetrators of the crime.
“TRS leaders and their government have to own responsibility to recent spree of suicides and murders,” he said and vowed to stand by Nagaraju’s family till the culprits are punished and “entire conspiracy” behind the murder is unravelled.
