Dalit woman dragged by hair, head smashed with stone for not withdrawing complaint

Seoni (Madhya Pradesh): A 23-year-old Dalit student was killed in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district on Monday after she was dragged by her hair while on her way to college and her head smashed with a stone by a man who was allegedly putting pressure on her to withdraw the sexual harassment complaint against him, police said.

The incident took place around noon when the student was walking to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Government Girls College in Seoni district, around 350 km from Bhopal, police officials said.

Police officials said the accused, 38-year-old Anil Mishra, got down from his motorcycle and dragged the woman to the roadside by her hair. He allegedly pushed the victim to the ground and smashed her head with a big stone lying nearby, said Kotwali police station in-charge Arvind Jain.

Some people rushed to help and overpowered Mishra. The woman, who was seriously injured and bleeding profusely, died while being taken to a hospital, Jain said.

Mishra, who has been arrested, prima facie committed the crime as the victim refused to withdraw the sexual harassment case against him, said KK Verma, Seoni sub-divisional officer (police).

Both are residents of a village in Seoni district, Verma said, adding that further investigation is on.