Gujarat: Dalit youth beaten up for posting photo on Instagram wearing cap and sunglasses!
Victim beaten up for wearing cap and sunglasses, accused flee village, police investigating.
Gujarat. In a disturbing incident, a 24-year-old Dalit youth was brutally beaten up by a group of upper caste men in Saibapur village in Himmatnagar taluka of Sabarkantha district. The attack, which took place on the night of July 17, was allegedly due to the youth’s Instagram post in which he was wearing a traditional cap and sunglasses.
Ajay Parmar, who makes a living as an auto-rickshaw driver, was returning home when he was ambushed near the Navanagar bus stand.
According to the FIR lodged on July 18, four men from the Darbar community, who consider themselves Kshatriyas, stopped Parmar and started assaulting him.
“They told me that only people from the Darbar community can wear safa and sunglasses. They thrashed me and asked me to remove the picture. I somehow escaped from them and fled in my auto rickshaw. While returning home, one of my friends told me that a group of 20-25 people from the Darbar community was waiting to beat me up. Meanwhile, I called my father and brother to rescue me,” Parmar was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald.
Upon reaching the village, the gathered men continued to attack Parmar and his father, slapping and abusing them. Despite calls for help, the police reportedly arrived an hour later. “We stayed at the spot fearing for our lives,” Parmar said, adding that his family is the only Dalit family in the village that is predominantly Darbar community.
The FIR names four accused: Kripalsingh Rathore, Manusingh Rathore, Hitendrasingh Rathore and Shuklasingh Rathore.
Police sub-inspector Sanjay Goswami of Himatnagar rural police station confirmed that the accused have fled the village and investigation is underway.
The incident is part of casteism in India, where Dalits are targeted by upper caste men for wearing traditional attire such as safa, shoes or moustache. There have been many such cases in recent times, highlighting the caste-based discrimination and violence prevalent in many parts of India.
Courtesy : : Hindi News