Uttar Pradesh: Dalit Man Assaulted, Forced to Lick Man’s Shoes; Accused Arrested

The accused has been identified as Tejbali Singh Patel, a contractual lineman in the Shahganj area of Sonbhadra district, and a case has been lodged against him under the SC/ST Act.

New Delhi: A Dalit man, Rajendra Chamar, was allegedly assaulted and forced to lick the shoes of a contractual power worker in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district on Thursday. The power worker was “angry” because the victim was checking faulty electrical wiring, The Indian Express reported.

The accused has been identified as Tejbali Singh Patel, a contractual lineman in the Shahganj area of Sonbhadra district, and a case has been lodged against him based on a complaint by Chamar. He has reportedly been arrested.

The incident came to light after videos of it went viral on social media on Saturday. In one video, the accused is seen assaulting and abusing the 21-year-old Chamar, and asking the person recording the video to share it in a group. In the second video, the victim is seen licking the accused’s shoes and doing sit-ups while holding his ears and apologising.

“I had gone to my uncle’s house. There was some issue with the power wire, and I was looking at it. Tejbali reached there and started assaulting me with sticks. He also made me spit on his shoes and lick it. For two days, I didn’t say anything. But now, I have come to lodge a case,” Chamar told reporters about the incident.

“On July 8, we received two viral videos through social media. In the videos, a person identified as Tejbali… The lineman started assaulting him. He also made him do sit-ups while holding his ears and made him lick his shoes,” Sonbhadra circle officer (Ghorawal) Amit Kumar said, according to The Indian Express.

The FIR against Patel invokes IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Uttar Pradesh director general of police has also reportedly taken note of the incident. “The DGP has given directions for the strictest legal action against the accused,” UP Police said in a tweet.

Courtesy : The Wire

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