The forest department initially tried to defend its officials claiming that the man was shot dead as villagers tried to snatch the gun of a forest guard.

A Dalit man was allegedly shot dead by a forest guard after he tried to intervene in an altercation between his family and forest department officials over the filling of water from a hand pump.

The incident took place in Fatehpur village about sixty km from the Shivpuri district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.

The deceased has been identified as Madan Balmiki.

Balmiki's wife Saroj in her complaint has alleged that her daughter was filling water from the handpump and washing utensils at a little distance near the Fatepur forest check post when forest ranger Suresh Sharma hurled casteist slurs at her.

"When my daughter asked the officer not to abuse, a lady officer dragged her from her hair and when this was told to my husband who was about 100 meters from the spot he rushed to intervene and was subsequently shot dead," she said in her complaint to the police.

The forest department initially tried to defend its officials claiming that the man was shot dead as villagers tried to snatch the gun of a forest guard who was part of the anti-encroachment team that was sent to the spot on Sunday.

Late on Sunday evening, villagers staged a protest outside the Karera police station following which a murder case under section 302 has been registered against 15 people including forest ranger Suresh Sharma. No arrests have, however, been made so far.

The forest department, too, has constituted an enquiry into the entire incident.

The opposition BJP has attacked the Kamal Nath-led government alleging atrocities against Dalits across the state has become "the new norm".

"Recently a Dalit youth was burnt to death in Sagar, now a Dalit has been shot dead by forest officials for filling water from a hand pump. This speaks of the plight of Dalits and the attitude of the state government towards them," Vishwas Sarang, who was a minister in the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government said while talking to India Today TV.

The BJP has also threatened to bring an adjournment motion on atrocities against Dalits in the upcoming budget session of the state Vidhan Sabha.