The family of Dharmendra Jatav, a Dalit, of Sardhana, is on the verge of starvation after he was booked by the police in a case of attempt to murder on January 19 reportedly to pressurise him to have a settlement in another case in which Jatav had accused the father of BJP MLA from Sardhana Sangeet Som.

Surprisingly Pankaj, a resident of Salava, who is the complainant in the case of attempt to murder, is unaware about this and is unknown to Jatav. Jatav’s lawyer Hagan Rana claims that a case of attempt to murder was fabricated against his client and the complainant Pankaj who lodged the case against him had given an affidavit that he even doesn’t know Jatav and about the case registered against Jatav on his complaint.

Dharmendra Jatav, 32, is a poor fruit vendor who has the responsibility of five persons of his family including an elderly father Mehar Singh, wife Rashmi, and three sons.

The entire family has reached the stage of starvation since the past one month as a result of which Rashmi has to work as a maid to earn a livelihood for the family besides also having to shoulder the responsibility of getting justice for her husband. Rashmi, however, blamed the police for sending her husband to jail in a fake case in order to mount pressure for a compromise in a case of assault registered by Jatav against Omveer Singh, father of BJP MLA Sangeet Som, five years back.

She told that Jatav had a contract of supplying labour in the brick kiln of Omveer Singh. Five years back, one of the labourers provided by him ran away after which Singh pressurised him either to bring him back or give the money he had given to the labourer. But when Jatav refused for the same, Singh allegedly assaulted him. Thereafter, a case under section 325, 324 of IPC and SC/ ST Act was registered against him on the complaint of Jatav.

This, she said, is an attempt to mount pressure on him and force a compromise in the case for which Jatav was not ready.

Surprisingly, Pankaj, who is the complainant, in this case, is unknown to Jatav.

“Mukesh Singh, a close aide of Omveer Singh and resident of Village Salava in Sardhana area, called Pankaj from Ludhiana where he works as a labourer in a kiln field and then admitted him in a hospital where a minor surgery of his ear was done and some stitches on his head to make it look like a case of attempt to murder against Jatav,” claimed Atul Pradhan, an influential Samajwadi Party leader from Sardhana.

Pradhan added that when approached, Pankaj himself was surprised and unknown about the case registered at Daurala Police Station in which he is the complainant as he does not have any acquaintance with Jatav.

Pankaj came to know about this case only after Pradhan called him up in Ludhiana. Now his affidavit about the entire incident has been submitted. This affidavit was given to the police a week back but instead of ensuring his release the investigating officer approached the court to add two more cases against him under sections 326 and 420 of IPC.

SHO of Daurala Police Station Janak Singh Chauhan admitted receiving an affidavit and said that he will take apt action once the investigation is over.