Days after a video of a Dalit man being slapped and forced to lick the shoes of a contractual Electricity Department employee in Sonabhadra district went viral, Uttar Pradesh police registered a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocity Act (SC/ST Act) 1989, along with other sections of the Indian Penal code (IPC) at Shahganj police station and arrested four persons including the alleged assaulter Tejbali Singh Patel. The case was registered after the Dalit man identified as Rajendra Chamar filed a complaint in the local police station.
“We have arrested four persons in the matter including the assaulter. Three people have been arrested for helping the assaulter. The case has been registered under relevant sections of the SC/ST Act and IPC,” K.N. Maurya the Station House Officer of Shahganj police station in Sonbhadra district told The Hindu.
The case is lodged under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).
In the viral video, the accused Mr. Patel, allegedly assaulted the Dalit man, Rajendra Chamar on Thursday as he was angry with him for checking the faulty electrical wiring. The Dalit man could also be purportedly seen licking the shoes of the worker and doing sit-ups while holding his ears and apologising. The accused could also be heard telling a person who was recording the video to share it in a group. The Electricity Department has also relieved the accused from his job.
