Deepak Malik Dom, a Dalit from ward 5 of Aurahi Rural Municipality in Siraha, was initially excited when he learned that a Mahayagya (grand Hindu sacrificial ritual) would be held in his locality.

But his happiness was short-lived. The event’s organiser, Bajrangi Baba, ordered the demolition of Deepak’s home, claiming that Dalits should neither live nor move in the area near the ritual pavilion (mandap).

Without delay, on February 22, the rural municipality chairman Shivaji Yadav dispatched a bulldozer to demolish the home. The soil from the site where Deepak’s home once stood was also removed claiming that the land had been rendered impure.

The Dalit family living near the ‘Vishnu Mahayagya’ proposed site along the Hulaki Highway in Aurahi has been displaced ahead of the event scheduled to start on March 30. The organiser, Bajrangi Baba, along with rural municipality chair Yadav and former ward chair Dilip Yadav, forcibly relocated the family, setting up a temporary shelter for them away from the rest of the community.

Deepak and his wife, Anita, both employed as sanitation workers in the rural municipality, have refrained from filing a police complaint for fear of losing their jobs. Stigmatised as untouchables, Deepak, Anita, and five other family members have been forcibly relocated to a site about 500 metres away from their original home, where a bamboo hut has been built for them.

The impoverished Dom family, which had been living in the area for 30 years, was provided with a two-room home five years ago under the ‘Janata Awas Programme,’ built by the rural municipality with the federal government funding. However, the same rural municipality has demolished his home.

The family has been relocated to a distant plot in the village, where a two-room thatched hut with bamboo walls has been erected. According to Anita, their home was demolished on the instructions of Bajrangi Baba, with the rural municipality chair Yadav and former ward chairman Dilip Yadav personally insisting that the ritual must be held at the original location.

The displaced family has no access to drinking water at their new location, and electricity has yet to be installed, forcing them to rely on candles for light. “We used to live happily in our own home,” Anita said, her voice breaking with emotion. “But now, we have been placed in an isolated area. We had our own well there, but here, there is no water.”

Their son, Arjan, talked of the humiliation the family had endured due to their Dalit identity. “We were the only ones whose home was demolished; no other house was affected. What harm could our home have done to the ritual?” he said. “Our home was bulldozed simply because we are Dalits, and the removal of our land’s topsoil proves they consider us ‘untouchables’.”

Arjan said he has been unable to speak out against the injustice for fear of his parents losing their jobs.

Rural Municipality chair Yadav admitted to demolishing the home but denied it was due to untouchability. “The municipality plans to set up an agricultural market where their home stood,” he said. “We are working to improve the area; there is no need to create controversy.”

Former ward chairman Dilip defended the family’s relocation, claiming it was justified as they were given another house.

However, Kavuli Paswan, a former member of the National Dalit Commission, who lives in the rural municipality, condemned the instance as caste-based discrimination. He said they were subjected to untouchability because of their Dalit status and called for action against those responsible for the incident.

The three people—Bajrangi Baba, rural municipality chair Shivaji Yadav and former ward chair Dilip Yadav—have absconded following widespread criticism of their act.

Chief District Officer of Siraha Basudev Dahal and district police chief Ramesh Pandit, who visited the place and rural municipality office on Thursday afternoon, were unable to contact them.

“We visited their place but they had already absconded,” said Pandit.

He said they have asked Uditya Narayan Karn, chief administrative officer of the rural municipality office, to bring them in contact.

Meanwhile, lawmakers from various political parties, speaking in the House of Representatives on Thursday, demanded a parliamentary probe into the matter.

Lawmakers Jeevan Pariyar, Manish Jha, Abdul Khan, Amresh Kumar Singh, Ranendra Barali, Ashok Kumar Chaudhary and Prabhu Hajara, among others, condemned the act of demolishing the house and displacing the Dalit family.

They demanded legal action against those involved in treating the Dalits as untouchables.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has launched an investigation into the case. The NHRC’s provincial office in Janakpur has initiated an inquiry into the incident.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, the commission confirmed that a team had been dispatched to the site for monitoring and investigation. Additionally, the rights body has written to the District Police Office, Siraha, and the Aurahi municipal office seeking further information.