A 68-year-old man of Indian origin has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by a court in the United Kingdom for posting an offensive video about Dalits.

Amrik Singh Bajwa, a resident of Berkshire’s Slough, was convicted on April 4 after he had pleaded guilty to one count of sending an offensive message by a public communication network.

According to the police, Bajwa had posted the video on social media platform TikTok on July 19, which was offensive to the Dalit community. He was arrested on July 2.

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The Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance, a human rights organisation that campaigns against caste-based discrimination in Britain, said that Bajwa’s video included casteist, racist, religious and homophobic insults.

“Bajwa also threatened to rape women from the Dalit communities that he was insulting, and claimed to have raped their daughters, sisters, and mothers in the past with impunity,” the group said in a statement.

It added that several persons and organisations such as the Gura Ravidas Sabha in the UK and abroad, the Valmik organisation, Ambedkarites and others had complained about Bajwa to the police.

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“The 18 weeks sentence in jail reflects the severity of the harm Bajwa’s video caused the Dalit community,” a spokesperson of the anti-caste organisation said. “We understand the conviction did not specifically refer to ‘caste’ because it is not yet a protected characteristic in law.”

Investigating officer Sergeant Andrew Grant thanked all of the witnesses who offered their time and support to assist with the inquiry against Bajwa.

“I am pleased with the sentence given, which provides a clear message that Thames Valley Police will not tolerate behaviour like that of Amrik Bajwa,” he said. “As a force, we are committed to protecting our communities and ensuring that criminal actions which have the potential to undermine community cohesion are dealt with robustly.”