The Gujarat police on Friday registered a case against an inspector for allegedly assaulting a tribal man and delivering casteist slurs at him, The Indian Express reported. The inspector was booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The incident occured when the complainant, identified as Rajendra Valvai, had gone to a toll plaza on June 16 near Limbdi area located on the National Highway 47, where he refused to pay the toll claiming he was a local, the police told the newspaper. The toll operator asked Valvai to show his identity card, but Valvai refused and sat down near the booth in protest. He reportedly also asked his friends to join him.

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By the time the police reached the spot to intervene, an altercation had broken out between the toll booth officials and Valvai. The police said that both the groups were then brought to the nearby police station.

However, Valvai alleged that the police inspector, identified as Kripalsinh Jhala stopped him from filing a complaint against the toll operator, took him to his chamber and allegedly abused and assaulted him. Valvai also accused the inspector of using casteist slurs against him.

Valvai later submitted an application with these allegations to the deputy superintendent of police of the Dahod police station, following which an investigation was initiated. “A preliminary investigation into the matter was initiated after the application was received since the incident had happened inside the chamber with no eye witness in the case,” Harshvardhan Banker, deputy superintendent of police, SC/ST cell, Dahod, told The Indian Express. “However, considering the sensitivity of the matter, we lodged an FIR.”

However, apart from the FIR, no other inquiry has been initiated against the inspector till now, he said. “We have started questioning and if enough evidence is found against the accused and he is chargesheeted, an inquiry will be undertaken in the case,” Banker added.