Eight people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli after a video of a Dalit teenager being assaulted and made to lick the feet of one of the accused men went viral on social media, officials said on Tuesday, reported PTI.
According to the police, the boy is a Class 10 student and lives in Jagatpur town. On April 10, he was taken to Ramlila Maidan on a motorcycle by his friend. The police added that he was later taken to a garden, where the accused men beat him up and humiliated him.
The teenager and his mother registered a police complaint after a video of the assault went viral.
The boy told The Indian Express that he does not know any of the accused persons. “I don’t know them and I don’t know why they assaulted me,” he added. “After beating me up, they left me there and later, I was rescued by some people.”
The boy’s two sisters have demanded justice. “What happened to my brother, should not happen to anyone else,” one of the sisters told NDTV. “The accused should get the strictest possible punishment.”
Dalmau Circle Officer Ashok Singh said that a first information report has been filed and those arrested were sent to jail.
Harikeh Singh, station house officer of a local police station, said that some of the accused persons are minors, reported The Indian Express.
“We are arranging the paperwork and will take further action accordingly,” Singh said. “It was a case of enmity between the boys which led to the incident.”
The case was registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Singh told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met the boy and assured safety to his entire family. Yadav also promised to secure admission for him in Kendriya Vidyalaya, the party’s official Twitter handle said.
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