Four people were detained in India for allegedly beating up a Dalit youth in Vadodara in Gujarat for sitting with an upper-caste girl, a video of which had gone viral on social media a few days ago, a police official said.
As per the case registered at Vadodara taluka police station, Dalit youth Alpesh Parmar from Bhayli village was thrashed by seven persons on December 11 when he was sitting with a girl near Sevasi Canal road.
As per Parmar's complaint, he was verbally abused over his caste by seven men without provocation and then hit with belts in public, the official said.
Parmar claimed he did not approach police as the attackers had threatened him to stay silent, but he decided to file a case after the video, in which the accused can be seen punching and kicking him, went viral on social media, the official said.
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As per the complaint, the accused had uploaded the video with a warning that "this would happen to those who make negative remarks during our live (telecast)" and ended it with the slogan "Jai Rajputana".
It was being probed if Parmar was hit as he was a friend of the girl he was spotted with or for some remark during a social media live telecast, the official added.
"We have detained four of the seven accused. Two of them are Rajputs and two belong to the Other Backward Classes category. They will be formally arrested soon. Probe is underway," Vadodara Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand said.
The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (rioting), 323 (assault) and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) as well as provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as per police.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Congress working president and Dalit MLA Jignesh Mevani condemned the attack and called it an attempt to lynch a Dalit.
Tweeting the video of the assault,
he said the incident took place because the Gujarat government has not taken steps to ensure the safety of Dalits.