A 23-year-old youth staying in quarantine at a school in Nainital allegedly refused to eat food and drink water touched by a Dalit youth.

Devi had been preparing meals for all the persons in quarantine

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • A quarantined youth from Nainital allegedly refused to consume the food cooked by a Dalit woman
  • On being confronted, the youth claimed that he did not eat the food cooked by the woman as he gets possessed on eating food cooked outside his home

Nainital: A recent incident from Nainital has exposed that casteism still exists in the society. A 23-year-old youth allegedly refused to eat food prepared by a Dalit cook. The youth, staying in quarantine refused to consume anything touched by the Dalit cook. 

The 23-year-old youth was identified as Dinesh Chandra Milkani. The accused was booked after the pradhan of Bhumka village filed a complaint against him. 

Dinesh, his nephew and three other persons have been staying in quarantine at a government primary school in Bhumka village since May 15. The cook was identified as Bhawani Devi. 

Accused refused to consume food 

Bhawani Devi is a member of the Dalit community. Devi had been preparing meals for all the persons in quarantine. On May 15, she prepared food for all the quarantined persons. While on one side, all the people ate the food, Dinesh refused to consume it. 

Dinesh allegedly said that his food will come from home. Initially, Devi did not feel discriminated against. However, Devi learned the reality when Dinesh refused to drink water touched by her. 

When village pradhan Mukesh Chandra Baudhh learned about Dinesh’s behaviour, he confronted the 23-year-old youth. Mukesh told The Times of India, “Milkani said that his food will be delivered by his family. But, when we asked him to drink water touched by Devi, he refused again. ” Dinesh said that the incident is a case of caste discrimination, therefore, he took the decision of filing a complaint with the authorities. 

On being asked about the incident, Dinesh said that he refused to eat food as he always eats home-cooked food. He denied the allegations made against him. Dinesh claimed that he does not eat food prepared by other persons as he gets possessed by the deity. The 23-year-old youth has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the SC/ST Act. 

courtesy Mirror Now