The caste system in India has been a bane of the society ever since its inception. And while the world may be moving on a modern path, there still are horrific episodes reported of clashes between upper and lower castes. n the Khetalpur Bhansoli village of Uttar Pradesh, with a population of as much as 3,500, about 30% of them are Dalits. There have admitted to frequent fights with upper castes in the village. In one such incident, a pregnant woman was killed in this village for 'defiling' a bucket of a woman from the upper caste, reported the Indian Express.

On October 15 morning, an over-eight-months pregnant Savitri Devi, like most days, was collecting garbage from homes in Khetalpur Bhansoli village in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh. While she was at one of the homes, a rickshaw caused her to lose balance and ‘touch’ a bucket belonging to Anju, an upper caste Thakur. According to Kusuma Devi, Savitri's neighbour, Anju stormed towards her, punched her repeatedly in the stomach and banged her head on a wall. She kept accusing Savitri of defiling her bucket by touching it. Later, Anju’s son Rohit also joined in and beat her with sticks.

Savitri Devi's 6-year-old daughter Preeti: Image: The Indian Express

Six days later, both Savitri, a Dalit, and her unborn son were dead. The post-mortem report stated “antemortem head injury” to fully-developed 44 cm male foetus as the cause of her death. Her nine-year-old daughter, Manisha, was accompanying her that day and came running to ask for help. When I and a few other women reached the spot, barely 300 metres away, she was still being thrashed by the mother and son.