Dalit boy in UP forced to lick feet; 8 held as video goes viral

Rae Bareli/Lucknow: A video of a class 10 Dalit student being beaten up and made to lick the feet of a man surfaced on social media here, prompting the police to lodge a case and arrest eight people, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident also triggered a spate of allegations with another video, purported to be that from the victim's side, emerging on social media in which one person is heard making accusations on members of the upper caste for thrashing the boy finding him alone.

The teenager's family also met Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow to apprise him of the incident.

According to police, on April 10, the boy, a resident of Jagatpur town, was taken to Ramlila Maidan on a motorcycle by his friend. Police said he was later taken towards Salon Road, from where some other youths took him to a garden.

The attackers beat him up in the garden, they said.

A video of them beating up the boy and forcing him to lick the feet of one of the attackers was recorded and shared on social media, they said.

After the video went viral, the boy along with his mother reached Kotwali police station and lodged a complaint, they said.

Police, however, did not elaborate on the reasons as to why the boy was assaulted.

An FIR under relevant sections has been registered in the matter and eight accused have been arrested and sent to jail, Dalmau Circle Officer (CO) Ashok Singh said.

Police said there is no proof of as of now about some of the accused being minors and it will take action if and when such documents are brought to its notice.

The incident took a political colour with a large number of people along with Congress leader Sushil Pasi reaching the collectorate in Rae Bareli on Monday and holding a demonstration.

Samajwadi Party MLA from Unchahar, Manoj Kumar Pandey, also met the victim's family in Rae Bareli and party release issued by its spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary in Lucknow after the family met SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said even after this incident, the personnel of Jagatpur police station were pressuring the victim for a compromise.

"But, when the local people gheraoed the police station and held a big demonstration, then with the arrest of five people, an FIR was written on behalf of the minor boy in light sections. In that too, the main accused was saved. He is still absconding," the release said.

A demand for running bulldozers at the house of the accused, security and compensation to the victim and admission of the boy in the Kendriya Vidyalaya has been made by the aggrieved family, the release added.

The SP chief in a tweet said, "In a democracy , treating every citizen as equal with heart and giving equal respect to every caste and class without discrimination is true social justice. There should be no place for the dominance of any one caste-class in a democracy. The SP is always committed to equality in social relations rather than discrimination or exploitation."

Yadav also attached a photo from the viral video clip with his tweet.

The party, from its official handle, tweeted that the SP is standing with the underprivileged and who are being oppressed by the powerful.

"In Rae Bareli, the identity of the victim crushed by the ruling dynasts is the gift of the BJP. The victim's family met the party's national president. The victim should get admission in Kendriya Vidyalaya, arrangements should be made for the safety of the whole family," the SP tweeted.