A complaint has been filed against a 43-year-old local businessman for allegedly threatening and abusing two Dalit men in Telangana’s Nizamabad district, The New Indian Express reported. Residents claimed the duo had objected to Bharat Reddy mining gravel in the area.
The incident took place in September, but the complaint was registered on Sunday after a video of it was circulated on social media and aired by local television channels.
The Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi filed the complaint, Navipet Police Station Sub-Inspector J Naresh told PTI. “Based on the complaint, a case under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered,” Naresh told PTI.
The video shows Reddy forcing the two men to get into a muddy pond. The men are seen falling at his feet, but Reddy uses a stick to chase them into the water. As the two men stand with folded hands, Reddy verbally abuses them, NDTV reported.
Some reports said Reddy is a Bharatiya Janata Party member, but the party has denied the claim. “The individual exhibiting barbaric and unacceptable behaviour in Nizamabad on Dalits is not a BJP leader, nor does he hold any position in the party at any level,” the Telangana BJP said, according to The New Indian Express.
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