Dalit boys beaten, paraded for theft in Bihar, six arrested

The boys were allegedly made to do sit-ups, run around in circles, while some villagers filmed the humiliation on their mobile phones.

Three Dalit boys were allegedly stripped down to undergarments, beaten up, and paraded in a village in Bihar’s Gaya district on a local Panchayat’s orders over the weekend for “stealing batteries” from a shop, police said.

6 villagers in Bihar’s Gaya district were arrested in a case of humiliation of Dalit boys who were accused of theft from their shop. (Shutterstock/Representative image)

The incident came to light on Sunday after a video clip of the assault went viral. The clip purportedly shows the boys being forced to do sit-ups, run around in circles as some villagers film the humiliation on their mobile phones, police said.

The assault on Saturday triggered tensions in the village, but the situation was brought under control through a meeting between community leaders, they added.

Gaya’s senior police superintendent Aditya Kumar said a special investigation team has been formed to look into the incident under police superintendent Rakesh Kumar. He added Mohammad Sheru Alam, the shop owner, Mohammad Zinnat, Mohammad Tezu, Amarjeet Singh, Mohammad Nasir, and Mohammad Akhtar have been arrested in the case.

They have been booked under Indian Penal Code’s Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), as well as the Information Technology Act, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.