Man Booked For Refusing Food Cooked By Dalit Woman At A Quarantine Facility In UP’s Kushinagar

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police have arrested a 35-year-old man named Siraj Ahmed for refusing to eat the food prepared by the dalit Pradhan of the village, as per several reports Dainik.

The accused belongs to Bhujali Khurd village of Kushinagar district, and was staying at a village quarantine facility after returning from Delhi.

On 29 March, Ahmed, along with five persons, had returned from Delhi. The group was stationed at a quarantine facility that had been prepared at a government-run primary school. However, last Friday (10 April), when the cook wasn't available at the facility, Pradhan Lilavati Devi took it upon herself to cook food for the men.

However, Ahmed refused to consume the food. Following the development, the pradhan reached out to the police and made a written complaint. She also apprised the Sub-Divisional Magistrate Deepak Singh and regional official Ramakant of the incident.

Following the complaint, the Police registered a case against Ahmed under the stringent SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

After the incident, local BJP MLA Vijay Dubey visited the Dalit pradhan’s home and ate the food prepared by her to send across a message. Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar quoted the MP as saying that discrimination is a social crime and could not be tolerated.