BEED, March 20 -- For 23 years, a Dalit farmer in Beed has carried the weight of caste prejudice and social exclusion. Now fresh wounds have reopened, with villagers accusing him of practising black magic and casting spells on women. Machindra Payke, from Chinchala village, filed a complaint with the local police on March 13, stating that villagers had accosted, abused and accused him of practising black magic a few days earlier. Police registered a first information report (FIR) that names a former sarpanch and 33 women, booking them under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The FIR and inquiry that will follow mark another harsh turn in a journey that started in 2002. In his 20s then, Payke's troubles began when his farm well, built under a state scheme, first yielded water. In a moment of pride, he carried some of that water in a brass pitcher to offer it at the village temple. "People gathered there, abused me, beat me and locked me inside the gram panchayat office. Later, I was handed over to the police, who let me go after hearing what had happened," he recalled. What he describes as a moment of caste-based humiliation soon turned into a prolonged social boycott. "No one speaks to us. Shopkeepers refuse to sell us anything. Living like this in the village where I was born is a constant mental trauma," Payke said. Over the years, Payke submitted memorandums and staged peaceful protests at the district headquarters and the divisional commissionerate in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, seeking intervention. But little changed. Chinchala, with a population of around 5,000 and over 700 households, is dominated by OBC and Maratha communities, followed by Scheduled Castes and a smaller Muslim population. Payke says even his own community avoids interacting with him out of fear. Today, his life is split between two villages. He owns two small parcels of land, of two acres each, in Chinchala, where he cultivates cotton, soybean and maize. But his family has largely moved to his in-laws' village, 30 km away. "I keep travelling back and forth to manage the farm, but we cannot live here peacefully," he said, adding that his annual income does not exceed Rs.2 lakh. In recent years, Payke says, the situation has worsened. "Rumours were spread that I practise black magic and cast spells on women in the village. Some even spoke about killing me. That is when I approached the administration again," he said. Others are afraid they will face the same treatment. If the village does not accept us, the government should rehabilitate us elsewhere," he added. Beed superintendent of police Navneet Kanwat said the matter would be investigated thoroughly. "I have asked the SDPO to conduct a transparent investigation. Further action will depend on the findings," he said. Sub-divisional police officer Venkat Ram, leading the inquiry, said the investigation will revisit both recent allegations and the 2002 incident. "We have begun recording statements of Payke and the other villagers. We need to establish whether the 2002 incident took place and identify those involved," he said. Given the time that has elapsed, the probe will rely largely on testimonies. "There were no CCTV cameras then. Some residents from that period have since moved to cities like Pune and Mumbai. We are tracing them to record their statements," Ram said, adding that shopkeepers, vendors and village elders will also be questioned. He expects the inquiry to be completed within two months. Village leaders have denied the allegations. Sarpanch Subhash Asbe and deputy sarpanch Laxman Munde said there has been no caste conflict in Chinchala. "People from all communities live peacefully here. The claims of social boycott are not true," Asbe said. Both leaders said they were too young in 2002 to recall the alleged incident but welcomed the investigation. Payke hopes the FIR will finally lead to action. "I have been waiting for justice for 23 years."...