He also informed that the “Muslim side” filed a counter complaint against the dalit family three days later on 1 June for thrashing them, and IPC 341 and 323 have been applied. He did not specify who from the dalit family has been booked.

Kumar refused to speak further on the case and said the probe is on.

Dalit Family Refutes Police Probe

The dalit family contests Kumar's statements. Usha Devi told this correspondent that in the 'refinery area', there are only a couple of Hindu families living among 200-odd Muslim families. She said that two months ago, the Hindu family living in the neighbouring house sold it off to Alam's family. Ever since the new family has shifted, the men have been harassing her and her daughter who are often alone at home. Her minor son is a residential student at a Begusarai school while her husband lives in Kuwait and her elder son lives in Dubai, both employed in factories.

Her son told Swarajya that on the night of the attack, the men told them to sell them their house for Rs 16 lakh - the same amount in which they bought the neighbouring house - and leave the area. “They said they have the support of the local Congress leader,” the boy said. “They said you Hindus are too few here, you cannot do much. Even Bajrang Dal won't help you.”

As per 2011 census, Nurpur village has 74 per cent Muslims and 25 per cent non-Muslims. Begusarai district has about 85 per cent Hindus and 13 per cent Muslims. Traditionally a communist stronghold, Begusarai voted heavily in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Hindutva' leader Giriraj Singh in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

The dalit family also refutes the allegation of a land dispute. Usha Devi said she was being asked for papers of her house even though it had nothing to do with the attack on her. She said that she learnt from the local newspapers that the counter FIR names her minor son.

She also shared a copy of a letter (copy below) she submitted to Barauni out post police station last month, which states that on 1 May around 8.30 pm, her neighbour, Firoze, and his two sons including Laddu attacked the dalit family. The letter, addressed to SHO, says that the men abused her, caught hold of her hair, assaulted her on her face and head and thrashed her children. It says that the attack was a result of a minor dispute earlier in the day when some water used for washing motorcycles spilled in to the house of Alam.

Scared about his family living in India, Usha Devi’s elder son, who lives in Dubai, wrote a letter to the Indian embassy on 12 June (copy below), requesting protection to his family. His letter states that he doesn’t earn much and cannot afford to go to Begusarai to assist his family.