Gujarat Dalit man stripped, beaten up after argument over spilled food
Police officials said that their preliminary investigation revealed that a brawl broke out between the accused and the victim, Pragnesh Parmar (25) at an eatery after he accidentally brushed against a waiter carrying food.
A Dalit man was allegedly stripped and thrashed by the owner of a roadside eatery and three others after an argument in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Sunday night, police said on Monday.
Pragnesh Parmar, the 25-year-old victim, has been admitted at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital with severe injuries, police said.
The eatery owner Shanker Thakor was arrested on Monday and three other accused are absconding after the incident, which came to light after its video went viral on social media.
Independent lawmaker and Dalit leader, Jignesh Mevani, tweeted the video and demanded the arrest of all the accused.
“Not protest, there will be agitation against such incidents. I am giving an ultimatum to Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani that if all the accused will not be arrested and sentenced then Gujarat bandh call will be given,” Mevani wrote in the tweet in Gujarati.
Police officials said that their preliminary investigation revealed that a brawl broke out between the accused and Parmar at the eatery after he accidentally brushed against a waiter carrying food.
“This eatery is near Sabarmati toll booth. Pragnesh Parmar, along with his friend Jayesh Parmar, had reached here around 7.30pm and placed an order for their dinner. But before they could eat, Pragnesh happened to spill the food being carried by a waiter,” Sabarmati police station’s inspector VH Vala said.
“The video (of the brawl) clearly shows that how Shanker and others used sticks to beat Pragnesh, who was rolling on the surface without a shirt,” Vala added.
A complaint has been registered against the accused on charges of attempt to murder and atrocity against a Scheduled Caste person.