The police have detained the accused (Representational)
A man has been detained in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur for allegedly smearing human faeces on a Dalit man, who accidentally touched the accused with grease. The incident comes weeks after a man urinated on a tribal man in the state's Sidhi district, triggering massive outrage.
The accused, Ramkripal Patel, belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community.
A case is being registered against Mr Patel under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code, a police officer told news agency PTI.
The victim, Dashrath Ahirwar, who approached the police on Saturday, claimed that the incident occurred on Friday while he was working on the construction of a drain in Bikaura village, about 35 km from the Chhatarpur district headquarters.
The accused was bathing at a nearby hand pump when he touched him with the grease he was using in the construction work by mistake, Mr Ahirwar said.
"Ramkripal Patel brought human faeces in a mug he was using to bathe and smeared it on my body, head, and face," he told reporters, adding that Mr Patel even abused him over his caste.
"I reported the matter to the panchayat and called for a meeting. Instead, the panchayat imposed a fine of Rs 600 on me," Mr. Ahirwar alleged.
"A case is being registered against Ramkripal Patel under Sections 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act," Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Manmohan Singh Baghel said.
Dashrath Ahirwar and the other workers were joking with Mr Patel, who was bathing nearby, Mr Baghel said.
"They were throwing things at one another playfully when Mr Ahirwar put grease on Mr Patel's hand. Mr Patel then picked up human faeces with his hands and threw it at Mr Ahirwar," the police officer said.
The accused and the victim are both in their early 40s, the police said.