Uttarakhand: Dalit man booked for hurting ‘religious sentiments’

Police said the Salra village temple committee at Mori approached the court alleging that he (Kumar) created a ruckus and threw the religious symbols and idols inside the temple

A Dalit man was booked by Uttarkashi police for allegedly hurting “religious sentiments” following a court order, police said.

Dalit man identified as Ayush Kumar previously alleged that he was thrashed by upper-caste people for entering the temple (Representative Photo)

A case was registered on the orders of the Purola judicial magistrate, station head officer (SHO) Mohan Kathait, Mori police station said.

Police said the Salra village temple committee at Mori approached the court alleging that he (Kumar) created a ruckus and threw the religious symbols and idols inside the temple.

Kathait said, “We filed a first information report (FIR) against the Dalit man under sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.”

Dalit man identified as Ayush Kumar, 22, previously alleged that he was thrashed by upper-caste people for entering the temple. He said they beat him with burning wood and embers. He also allegedly took him ‘hostage’ for a night in a temple where he went for prayers.

According to Kumar, the accused told him that he has no right to enter the temple as he hails from lower status. The incident took place on January 9.

In this regard, an FIR was registered on January 11 against five accused under sections 3(1)(x) (intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view) of SC/ST Act, 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Mori police station.

On January 13, the five accused were arrested for allegedly assaulting Kumar.

The arrested accused were identified as Ashish, Ishwar Singh, Bhagyan Singh, Jaiveer Singh, and Chain Singh.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) took cognizance of the assault case and a team of NCSC on January 16 met the Dalit man at Dehradun and directed the police to take strict action against the accused.