As legal action progresses against Aurahi Rural Municipality Chairman Shivaji Yadav, former ward chair Dilip Yadav, and event organiser Bajrangi Baba for allegedly bulldozing a house of a Dalit family to clear the place for a religious event, the victims are being pressured for an out-of-court settlement.

They are reportedly facing both inducement and threats, forcing them into hiding.

Local Deepak Malik’s home was demolished, and the site soil was removed, claiming it had become ‘impure.’ Among those who allegedly led the act, municipality chair Shivaji and former ward chair Dilip are in police custody following their arrest, while the event’s organiser, Baba, is on the run.

Shivaji and Dilip, who were arrested last Friday, are being investigated under offences related to caste-based discrimination and untouchability. If found guilty, they face imprisonment of three months to three years and a fine ranging from Rs50,000 to Rs200,000.

The Siraha District Court on Sunday granted the first five-day remand to keep them in custody for investigation. Victim Malik had filed a formal complaint at the Siraha District Police Office on Saturday. Police said they are searching for Baba and expect to arrest him soon.

The victim’s family is facing pressure and temptation from the perpetrators’ relatives for an out-of-court settlement. Municipality chair Yadav’s son Rukesh, son-in-law Indradev Yadav, and others met Deepak Malik, offering him one kattha (338.63 square metres) land, a concrete house, and access to water and electricity in exchange for changing his statement.

However, Deepak Malik said he neither accepted nor rejected the offer. Unable to withstand the pressure from the perpetrators’ relatives, he has taken shelter at a friend’s house in another village within the district.

“We are the victims. Whether the state delivers justice or provides us with a house is up to the state,” he said.

Malik’s house was located near the site where a grand religious event was scheduled for March 30. The Dalit family had lived there for 30 years, and their house was built five years ago under the government’s housing programme.

The efforts to lure the victim into a settlement through temptation are objectionable, says resident and former lawmaker Suresh Chandra Das of Aurahi. He said the state is responsible for protecting and assisting the victim in such circumstances.

Superintendent of Police Ramesh Pandit, chief of the District Police Office, Siraha said the case has been registered and the legal process has begun, assuring that external pressures will not influence the investigation.

Following the public disclosure of the incident, there has been widespread demand for action against the guilty parties. Members of the federal parliament and Madhesh Provincial Assembly have expressed their objection to the incident, calling for a parliamentary investigation and action against the perpetrators. Various associations and organisations have also condemned the incident, demanding that those responsible for the caste-based discrimination be penalised.

However, Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal, to which municipality chair Yadav is affiliated, has come forward in their defence. The party submitted a memorandum to the district administration on Sunday, demanding Yadav’s release. A team led by JSP-N district chair and Arnama Rural Municipality chair Ashok Kumar Yadav handed over the memorandum to Assistant Chief District Officer Chet Raj Baral.

However, after facing criticism for protecting the municipality chair instead of supporting legal action against him for committing caste-based discrimination, JSP-N central chair Upendra Yadav stated that he remains committed to the rights of oppressed communities.

Organiser Baba, municipality chair Yadav, and former ward chair Yadav had visited the victim Malik's hut, where they threatened him and forced him to sign a document stating that he willingly allowed his house to be demolished. They also threatened him not to speak further or face consequences.

After forcing Malik to sign the document, they took his family to a government building near the site of the grand religious event, where they made the family speak on video, claiming they had willingly moved out. Soon after, the perpetrators became ‘unreachable.’

Following growing pressure over the forced signing of the document, police arrested the Yadav duo on Friday, but Bajrangi Baba remains at large.

The Malik family has been relocated to a secluded hut by the river, 500 metres away, with no access to drinking water or electricity. Deepak and his wife, Anita Malik both work as sanitation staff for the municipality but have been unable to go to work.