A Dalit man was stripped and beaten up along with his family members in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district for allegedly touching the motorcycle of an upper-caste person, NDTV reported on Monday. The incident, which took place on Saturday, came to light after a video of the attack was shared widely on social media.
The man has filed a police complaint against 13 people. A case has been registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
“An atrocity case was reported in Talikoti yesterday [Saturday] about assault on the Dalit man from Minaji village,” police officer Anupam Aggarwal told NDTV. “It was alleged that when he accidentally touched the bike of a man who belonged to the upper caste that he and his family members were assaulted by some 13 men.”
The video shows a crowd of men holding the Dalit man, while others thrash him.
The video came at a time when physical distancing norms are in place to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the attackers were not wearing masks and violating guidelines. Karnataka is the fourth worst-hit state in the country by the pandemic. As of Monday, the state’s total caseload is 63,772, including more than 1,300 deaths.
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