Haryana’s chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, on Thursday, ordered a judicial probe into the violence at Mirchpur village where upper caste miscreants targeted dalit homes resulting in the tragic death of an ageing father and his handicapped daughter on April 21.
Tara Chand, 70, died trying to rescue his polio-stricken daughter Suman, who was also burnt to death in the raging fire started by Jat residents, intending to “teach the lower castes a lesson”.
The belated decision to order a judicial inquiry nearly 50 days after the incident is apparently part of an agreement the chief minister reached with Mirchpur’s dalit families who fled in the wake of the violence and have since been camping in Delhi.
Mr Hooda met the families in the presence of senior Valmiki Samaj representatives on Wednesday.
Chief minister Hooda also assured 100 square yard residential plots for every dalit family of Mirchpur in addition to the construction of an exclusive Valmiki chaupal and a primary school. He also said members of the Valmiki community would be given priority for employment under the rural employment guarantee scheme and all homes damaged during the April 21 violence would be reconstructed at the government’s cost.
As part of the deal being offered, a soon-to-be-constituted peace committee would include at least two members from Delhi’s Valmiki Samaj besides Hisar’s deputy commissioner and residents of Mirchpur.
Chief minister Hooda’s peace offering follows growing criticism from several quarters.