A Dalit man was allegedly assaulted by five upper caste persons after he entered a temple in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, PTI reported on Thursday.
According to the police, the incident took place on January 9 when the man, identified as 22-year-old Ayush, went to offer prayers at the temple in Salra village in the district’s Mori area.
In his complaint to the police, Ayush alleged that the accused persons tied him and singed him with burning sticks. He suffered burn injuries and fainted after the assault, reported the Hindustan Times.
Ayush claimed that the accused were angry as he entered the temple despite being a Dalit.
Based on his complaint, a case under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections related to rioting, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code was registered by the police against the accused.
They have been identified as Ashish, Ishwar Singh, Bhagyan Singh, Jaiveer Singh and Chain Singh.
Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi said all the accused are on the run. “He [Ayush] is fine now,” Yaduvanshi added. “His family took him to Dehradun for treatment.”
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