Dalit man thrashed over ‘good clothes’ in Gujarat

A Dalit man was allegedly thrashed for wearing good clothes by a group of individuals belonging to an upper caste community in Banaskantha district of Gujarat.

A Dalit man was allegedly thrashed for wearing good clothes by a group of individuals belonging to an upper caste community in Banaskantha district of Gujarat, said police on Thursday. The accused also thrashed the victim’s mother who was trying to save him, said police.

The case put under the spotlight vulnerability of Dalits (Shutterstock)

The incident occurred at Mota village in Palanpur taluka, on Tuesday night. According to the police, the accused expressed their displeasure “over the victim’s choice of clothing, including his well-dressed appearance and sunglasses”. Police said the victim was identified as Jigar Shekhalia. Based on the victim’s complaint, a first information report (FIR) was filed against seven people.

According to the complaint, one of the seven accused on Tuesday approached the victim outside his house, abused him and issued death threats saying he was “flying too high these days”, news agency PTI reported.

Later that night, six others from the same community confronted the victim near a village temple. They questioned him about his attire and sunglasses before assaulting him and dragging him behind a dairy parlour. When the victim’s mother rushed to his aid, she was also assaulted, threatened, and her clothes torn, said police.

The victim and his mother are currently receiving treatment at a hospital, said an official familiar with the matter.

The FIR has been registered at Gadh police station, under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting, unlawful assembly, outraging the modesty of a woman, voluntarily causing hurt, and using abusive language, according to police. They were also booked under relevant sections of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. No arrest has been made in connection with the incident so far, the police official said.

(With inputs from PTI)