Orissa, India
The Rajnagar police on Saturday arrested one Niranjan Pradhan ,the Village Education Committee (VEC)member of Siddha Marichani Nodal Primary school of Sanamarichapalli village under Rajnagar block in Kendrapada district, on the alleged charge of his involvement in preventing two Dalit cooks to prepare mid day meal for the school student on last 19th January by forcefully confined the two Dalit women in the kitchen room along with the cooked stuff, said Maheswar Sethy , the IIC of Rajanagar Police station.
The arrested person was booked under Section 442,294,506 IPC ;3 SC & ST Prevention Act after one of the Dalit victim women ,Ketaki Sethy, lodged an FIR at Rajanagar Police Station on last 22nd January against Niranjan Pradhan,said IIC of Rajnagar PS..
The arrested person was on Saturday produced before the JMFC court of Pattamundai where he remanded into jail custody after his bail petition was rejected.
On the otherhand, the upper caste students of Siddha Marichani Nodal Primary school of Sanamarichapalli village,on Saturday , skipped from the school as once again a Dalit prepared meal on Friday for the student .
According to locals , the upper caste guardians are hell bent not to send their wards to the school till the local administration would not take steps to prevent the Dalits from preparing midday meal in the school.
It may be noted here that since last 19th January, the Mid Day meal was stopped after tension prevailed in the area between upper caste and Dalits following the VEC member , Niranjan Pradhan, allegedly restricted two dalit women Ketaki Sethy and Sebati Sethy ,who were entrusted to cook Mid-Day Meal in Maa Siddhamarichani Nodal Primiary school, not to prepare mid day meal and threatened them to quit their jobs. When the two Dalit women denied to quit their jobs , they were allegedly forced to remain inside the kitchen room with the cooked stuff as the VEC members of the school , confined them by locking the room from outside .
But,on Friday , one Dalit woman , Saraswati Sethy, the secretary of Maa Ambika Self Help Group (SHG), after getting green signal from the local administration prepared Mid Day meal for the students .But out of 111 students present in the school only 28 students, including 13 girls, came to eat the Mid Day Meal that was prepared by the Dalit Woman on yesterday.
Even on Friday a meeting was organized between the Dalits and Upper caste people in this regard to settle the matter amicably, but when the matter was worsened in the meeting ,police arrested the VEC member, informed locals.
It may be noted here that a team of Supreme Court State adviser on Right to Food on last week visited the Sanamarichipali village to investigate about the atrocity on dalit women cooks ,who were prevented by upper caste villagers and school authority to cook midday meal for the student in the school.
Meanwhile ,the district administration and the school teachers are trying their best to take the parents of the upper caste students into confidence to resolve the matter, informed. the District Magistrate , Sisrkanta Panda.
