Mystery shrouds Dalit man death in fire

Mandya: In a shocking incident, a 43-year-old Dalit man, Jayakumar, was alleged to have been burned alive in Katteraghatta village, located in KR Pet taluk of Mandya district, on Saturday.

Police said the incident occurred when a haystack owned by Anil Kumar, a resident of the same village and a member of an upper-caste family, was placed on land belonging to Jayakumar. Despite repeated requests by Jayakumar to remove the haystack, Anil Kumar allegedly refused. In her police complaint, Lakshmi, the wife of the deceased, complained against Anil Kumar. Jayakumar is alleged to have set fire to the haystack and then jumped into the flames, resulting in his death.

On Friday, Jayakumar had also given a complaint to KR Pet Rural police station against Anil Kumar for allegedly not removing the haystack from his land, police stated. KR Pet Rural police have filed a murder case under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.