Dalit Man Paraded Half-Naked With Blackened Face, Shoe Garland In Madhya Pradesh, 2 Held

Police filed a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) after the circulation of videos of the incident.

A Dalit man paraded and humiliated with his face blackened and a garland of shoes around his neck after allegedly stalking a woman in a village in the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Wednesday. 

A case has been filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and required sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) following the circulation of videos of the incident. Two individuals were arrested, according to a police official.

Superintendent of Police Abhishek Anand told news agency PTI that the incident took place earlier last week in Bhaisodamandi village under the Bhanpura police station limits.

Video Of Incident Surfaced

The videos posted on the social media handle X depict a half-naked man, wearing only trousers, with his face blackened and a garland of shoes around his neck, being forced to walk through the village by a group of people.

The assault followed an FIR filed by a woman on September 29, in which the man was charged under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force against women with intent to outrage their modesty) and 78 (stalking) of the BNS, Anand stated.

During interrogation, the victim did not initially disclose the assault, but police contacted him after the video surfaced on Tuesday.

An FIR was registered against Rameshwar Gurjar, Balchand Gurjar, and others under the BNS and SC/ST Act, based on the Dalit man’s complaint. The accused were detained, and the police also issued a notice to the Dalit man concerning the case against him.