The Congress condemned the bizzare incident where the caste of candidates appearing for the police constable exam were stamped on their chests. The candidates were undergoing medical examination in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, as a part of the recruitment process.
Candidates were stamped SC, ST and OBC depending on the caste but those is the general category were not stamped. Dhar’s superintendent of police, Birendra Singh, condemned the incident and ordered an inquiry into the matter. “The incident where candidates’ chests were labelled with their castes is indeed deplorable. We have taken the matter seriously as this is wrong and should not happen. I have directed an investigation into the matter so that we can prosecute the ones responsible at the earliest,” he told ANI.
The Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dr RC Panika also expressed his distress following the incident, saying, “This matter is quite serious, we will look into it and we will launch an investigation.
Earlier this month, Bharat Bandh protests in several districts in Madhya Pradesh turned violent. ‘Bharat Bandh’ was called, on April 2, to protest the perceived dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Such incidents are not new in Madhya Pradesh. In December 2017 stickers were pasted on the foreheads of women awaiting sterilisation at Burhanpur district hospital. In August 2017, the cheeks of children who came to meet their relatives at Bhopal’s Central Jail were stamped with the jail’s official seal.