New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a Dalit man was allegedly beaten and forced to drink urine after being abducted in Rajasthan’s Churu district, police said.
The alleged incident took place on Republic Day.
A report in news agency ANI quoted the police as saying that an FIR was registered and two accused persons arrested in connection with the incident. A total of eight persons were named in the FIR.
The two accused persons were identified as Umesh Jat and Birbal Jat.
Another report in Hindustan Times quoted Himanshu Sharma, the investigating officer in the case, as saying that the arrested accused are to be produced before a court on Sunday.
Sharing details of the incident and the ongoing probe, ASP Jagdish Prasad Bohar told ANI that the arrested persons owned up to the assault during interrogation. He added that the police carried out a raid during which the two persons were arrested.
A manhunt was underway to nab the remaining accused at the earliest, he further informed.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, the investigating officer said that the man had injury marks on his back which goes to show that he was beaten. However, there is no corroboration yet that the victim was forced to drink urine, he said, adding that the Dalit youth as well as the accused persons are roughly of the same age.
According to the ANI report, the victim, Rakesh Meghwal, told police that he was beaten with a stick after being tied with a rope. He claimed that casteist abuses were also directed at him.
The victim said on the night of January 26, the accused came to his house and asked him to come along with them for some work. As he refused to oblige, they put him in a car and drove him to a nearby field.
The HT report quoted the victim as saying that the accused were involved in a clash with him during the Holi celebrations last year and had been nursing a grudge against him ever since.