A teenaged Dalit boy was reportedly subjected to assault and humiliation by a group of youths in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. The instance took place on November 23. However, it took two days more to file an FIR which happened only after Jaunpur SP Ajay Pal Sharma reportedly intervened. The youth was reported by several media outlets to have endured a brutal assault which included being forced to consume urine, along with having his eyebrows shaved off. After the attack the youth was sent for medical attention to determine whether he was a minor or not. However, police dispute this, they have stated that reports of the youth being forced to drink urine are “untrue”, according to the Deccan Herald.
According to IANS, the accused has also filed an FIR against the victim of the assault, alleging that he had committed sexual harassment against a girl in their family. The police have thus far reportedly registered a named FIR against the victim under Section 354 (outraging modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Badlapur Circle Officer AK Singh had informed, according to IANS, that the victim’s complaint led to the filing of an FIR against two people from the village, stating that “On the complaint of the Dalit boy, a named FIR against two persons of his village was lodged under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and also sections of the SC/ST Act.”
According to the victim’s father who has made the complaint, his son was ambushed while returning home following which he was mercilessly beaten by assailants. The perpetrators, driven further, allegedly forced him into consuming soil and urine and even shaved off his eyebrows. In a brazen display of arrogance and impunity, the accused further summoned the victim’s father to the scene of the alleged crime asking him to take his son, and issued a warning that they should not complain to the police.
However, the father of the victim was not intimidated by this and he proceeded to contact Sujanganj police the day the incident took place. However, according to reports, his complaint was ignored. Frustrated by the lack of response, he had to schedule a meeting with the Jaunpur SP after his complaints at the local police station were ignored. This meeting led to a pressure to file and register the FIR.
The police have reportedly arrested a man accused in the incident, named Aditya Singh. According to the Deccan Herald, the police have registered an FIR against four people, out of which two individuals have been identified. The charges include Sections 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC, along with provisions of the SC/ST Act. The Sujanganj police further stated that the allegations of forcing the victim to drink urine were deemed untrue in the preliminary investigation, stating that, “The claim that the minor was forced to consume urine has been found to be incorrect in the preliminary investigation.”
Related:
Dalits in Tamil Nadu are experiencing a rise in violence against them
Anti-Dalit violence emerges in the first half of November in alarming numbers
Systemic and widespread: Violence against Dalit continues across Indian states