In a shocking turn of events in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, an entire community of 210 Brahmins from Harinagar village has been implicated in an SC-ST Act case, including those who don’t even reside there. The controversy erupted from a petty money dispute over unpaid construction dues, escalating into a violent clash on January 31 night.
The complaint, filed by Ashrafi Paswan, accuses around 70 named Brahmins and 150 unidentified others from the village of collective assault and atrocities. Women and a child were reportedly injured in the brawl triggered by demands for Rs 2.5 lakh owed for building a house in 2015 by Kailash Paswan for Hemant Jha.
Despite most accused working in distant cities and states to support their families, the FIR paints the whole village as perpetrators. Named individuals like Hemant Jha, Srinath Jha, Pankaj Jha, Omprakash Jha, and Sumit Jha allegedly led the attack on the Paswan household.
Police have detained 12 people for questioning and bolstered security in the tense village under Kusheshwarsthan police station. Over 10 injuries were reported, highlighting how a financial feud snowballed into communal friction.
This case raises serious questions about the misuse of stringent laws like the SC-ST Act in routine civil disputes. Local tensions simmer as investigations continue, with villagers decrying the blanket accusations against non-residents. The incident has caught national attention, shared widely by an NGO on social media, underscoring flaws in legal applications that target entire communities.