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DALIT SOLIDARITY NEWS   Monday, May 03, 2004   Pune Newsline - Expressindia.com 1 May 2004 Dalit thrashed for wanting water for all Pune, April 30: A caste clash over water? That too 72 km from Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra? Yes, a group of upper caste Hindu men thrashed a Dalit on Wednesday at Nimone village in Shirur taluka just because he demanded equal distribution of water among all villagers. Bhagvan Mahadeo Lad (35) was beaten up with sticks, iron rods and axes by a group of seven men. The incident came to light when some villagers brought a badly injured Lad to Sassoon Hospital in Pune for treatment. Later, policemen from Shirur police station recorded his FIR. A case has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Casteist Atrocities Act and Protection of Civil Rights Act. However, no one has been arrested. In the FIR, Lad stated that he was attacked when he insisted that the tanker water must be emptied into the storage tanks constructed as part of the water supply scheme by Nimone gram panchayat so that there would be equal distribution of water. However, he alleged, the upper caste men were against it and told him that the tanker water was not meant for the lower castes. Read the full story 6:59 AM