A BJP supporter accused of locking and torturing 16 Dalit people for days inside his coffee plantation was arrested on Tuesday in Karnataka, the NDTV report said.
The alleged assault by the BJP man also made one pregnant women, who was among the victims lose her baby, the report said.
It identified the accused as Jagadeesha Gowda, from the state’s Chikkamagaluru district.
The police has registered against Gowda and his son Tilak, under the law against atrocities on Dalits, it mentioned.
The report stated that both the accused are absconding.
The report stated that the victims were working as daily wagers at the coffee plantation in Jenugadde village, and had borrowed Rs 9 lakh from the owner.
The victims had failed to repay the borrowed loan, it said.
"I was kept under house arrest for one day. I was beaten up and verbally abused. He had confiscated my phone," the report quoted Arpitha, a victim who lost her baby, as having said.
