"Today the government has ensured justice to us, but once all the attention fades away, what will happen to us? I fear for our future" 35-year-old Dashmat Rawat told The Quint.
(Photo: Vishnukant Tiwari/The Quint)
Video Producers: Vishnukant Tiwari and Garima Sadhwani
Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
"Today the government has ensured justice to us, but once all the attention fades away, what will happen to us? I fear for our future," said 35-year-old daily wage labour Dashmat Rawat, standing in a corner of his kutcha house in Kubri village in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district, as he stared at a group of people gathered outside his house.
Dashmat is half-ecstatic and half-terrified ever since he met with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday, 6 July, days after a video of BJP worker Pravesh Shukla allegedly urinating on him went viral.
For two days before his meeting with the chief minister, he was with the Sidhi administration, while his wife Asha, not knowing his whereabouts, was worried sick.
As he pulled up a chair to talk to The Quint, Dashmat's house swarmed with villagers, police officials, ASHA workers, panchayat-level officials, and journalists.
Sidhi's district collector Saket Malviya (left) met Dashmat Rawat and his family on Friday, 7 July.
Dashmat's wife Asha, who was hesitant at first to talk to this reporter, told The Quint that she learned about the incident when her husband didn't return on the night of 3 July.
Dashmat's wife Asha outside their house in Kubri village.
Both Dashmat and Asha expressed concern for their safety in the future even as they yearn for normalcy.
The concerns of Dashmat's family stand despite being reassured about their safety by the chief minister.
The scene outside Dashmat's house on Friday, 7 July.
A villager, who had come to Dashmat's house to stand in solidarity with him, told The Quint that casteism is the way of life in their village – and that the incident was "just an upper-caste man flaunting his societal status". Dashmat is a member of the Kol tribe, the largest tribal community in the state's Vindhya region.
A villager who had come to Dashmat's house to stand in unity with him told The Quint that casteism is the way of life in their village and that the incident was just an upper caste man flauting his societal status.
Asha further said that she wants all things to go back to how they were before this video went viral, and requested normalcy.
The Quint also spoke with the accused Pravesh Shukla's family whose house was demolished in the wake of the viral video.
Shukla, who is reportedly an aide of BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla, was arrested on the night of 4 July, and slapped with charges under the SC/ST Act and the stringent National Security Act (NSA).
Questioning the legality of the demolition, Pravesh's father Ramakant Shukla told The Quint:
Pravesh's father Ramakant Shukla outside their demolished house.
Almost one-third of the house was demolished on 5 July, citing "illegal construction", with Ramakant alleging that he was given a 24-hour notice before bulldozers showed up at his door.
The Quint spoke to several people from different communities in Sidhi, and all of them, including the victim's family and other Adivasis, condemned the demolition of the house of the accused's family.
The Quint spoke to several people from different communities in Sidhi, and all of them, including the victim's family and other Adivasis, condemned the demolition of the house of the accused's family.
An Adivasi member from the Kol community, requesting not to be named, said:
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