Rajasthan police arrested five persons on Wednesday in connection with the case wherein two Dalit youths were beaten and tortured by a group, Nagaur superintendent of police (SP) Vikas Pathak said.
A video of the incident, which occurred on February 16 in Karnu village of Nagaur’s Panchaudi area, went viral on the Internet and evoked public outrage.
The video showed the perpetrators dousing a screwdriver with petrol and inserting it in the rectum of the victim. The former alleged that the duo had tried to steal money from the cashbox at a motorcycle showroom, the SP added.
The five persons arrested are Hanuman Singh, Aidan Singh, Raghuvir Singh, Chhail Singh and Rehmatullah. While Hanuman is the owner, others are workers at the agency.
The accused have been charged under sections of SC/ST Act, for body offences, voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful confinement among other charges. The police officer also said that some more arrests are expected today.
The vicitms have been identified as Bisa Ram (25) and Panna Lal (18) and are residents of Bhojas village, some 20 km away from Karnu where the violence occurred.
Reacting to the incident, lawyer and Dalit rights activist PL Mimroth said that it’s shocking that violence of such nature continues to happen in independent India.
“What emboldens them to torture a Dalit person, record it and share the video? At times, it feels we are still living in medieval times,” said Mimroth, the head of Centre for Dalit Rights, Jaipur.
