Dalit houses torched in Bihar's Purnia, district admin says attackers local

Houses of Dalit community members were attacked and burned down by a 150-strong mob on the night of May 19 in Bihar's Purnia. The district administration said the attackers were locals.

A mob barged into the houses of members of a Dalit community in Niyamatpur village on the night of May 19. The mob, comprising 100-150 people, thrashed the inhabitants and torched their houses. Nevilal Rai, a retired chaukidaar, was killed in the attack on Wednesday night. Three FIRs were registered in this regard at the Baisi police station on May 20. Purnea Police has arrested two people in connection with the case and raids are underway to nab the others. Police deployment in the area has been heightened to prevent any more untoward incidents. The district administration has said that both the victims and the attackers were residents of the same village which falls under the limits of Khapda panchayat in Baisi in Bihar's Purnea. Baseless rumours are being spread on social media that attackers in the Purnea incident were not locals, said the district administration.