The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati Kumari, has punished 30 police officers to avenge the alleged humiliation of her father.
The mass suspension and transfer of policemen - including three senior officers - ordered by Ms Kumari to settle what is being widely described as a personal score has no precedent in India.
The case has acquired an even bigger dimension because of the caste angle - while Ms Kumari is a low-caste Hindu, or Dalit, all the policemen who have been penalised belong to the upper castes.
Dalits first tasted political power in the 1980s after centuries of oppression and suppression by Hindu upper castes but are still harassed and discriminated against in caste-ridden India.
Ms Kumari, who heads the Bahujan Samaj Party which came to power in India's politically most important state in May, is an icon for millions of assertive Dalits looking for a new identity.
Last week a car belonging to her father, Prabhu Dayal, collided with a policeman's motorcycle. It was a minor accident, according to newspapers, but the driver and Mr Dayal were forcibly brought to the Khurja police station for questioning.
Mr Dayal's driver was beaten up inside the station. When Mr Dayal tried to intervene, he was verbally abused by policemen who also threatened to arrest him.