Thrashing of juveniles: National SC Commission chief asks Sangrur police to submit report on arrest of accused in 2 days

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) chairman Vijay Sampla on Wednesday met the juveniles, including Dalit boy, who were thrashed and forced to walk for kilometers with their hands tied behind their backs by the village sarpanch and others in Sangrur district for allegedly stealing ₹250 from a samadh (tomb)

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) chairman Vijay Sampla on Wednesday met the juveniles, including Dalit boy, who were thrashed and forced to walk for kilometers with their hands tied behind their backs by the village sarpanch and others in Sangrur district for allegedly stealing ₹250 from a samadh (tomb).

National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Vijay Sampla with officials and the juveniles’ families in Sangrur district on Wednesday.

Sampla asked senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vivek Sheel Soni to submit a report on the arrest of the accused in the next two days. “Though the families delayed filing of complaint amid some pressure, the police registered a case immediately. All relevant sections were included in the FIR,” said Sampla.

Accompanied by Sangrur deputy commissioner Ramvir and Soni, Sampla talked to the families of the Dalit boy and two other victims (all aged 13) belonging to backward class. The family of fourth victim in the case, a non-Dalit, has chosen not to pursue the case.

A case was registered against sarpanch Gurnam Singh, also a Dalit, and three others under sections of Indian Penal Code, Juvenile Justice Act and the SC/ST Act at the Dhuri police station on March 14. A video of the incident had surfaced on social media.

SSP Soni said, “Necessary action was taken in the case as per the law.”

A group of residents, including women, of Bhasaur village gathered at the local government primary school, claiming that an unnecessary “caste colour’ was given to the case as it was their panchayat members who rescued the boys from the neighboring village.

“The village was united but some people made mountain out of a molehill to get panchayat membership,” said Sukhwinder, the mother of one of the accused.