A 30-year-old Dalit man has been beaten to death allegedly by a village panchayat head and his family members in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district, the police said on Wednesday. Four accused, including the village sarpanch, have been arrested, while four others are absconding.

Narad Jatav, belonging to the Scheduled Caste, was allegedly beaten up by Sarpanch Padma Singh Dhakad and his family with sticks and rubber pipes over a dispute over filling water from a local handpump to irrigate his fields.

Bhopal: A Dalit man was lynched allegedly by the local sarpanch and some of his family members in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district following a dispute over a borewell, police said

After the murder came to light, the Congress attacked the ruling BJP, claiming the party had pushed the state into lawlessness.