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‘Horrific, sickening’: Rahul Gandhi on torture of 2 Rajasthan Dalits on video
Gandhi’s tweet came hours after a widely-circulated video emerged on social media, showing the men being beaten, stripped and a screwdriver being shoved into one of them.
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The video of two young Dalit men being tortured in Rajasthan is “horrific and sickening”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday and told the Ashok Gehlot government to bring the accused to justice.
Gandhi’s tweet came hours after a widely-circulated video emerged on social media, showing the men being beaten, stripped and a screwdriver being shoved into one of them.
The video was apparently shot by one of the accused. BJP leaders had raced to condemn the torture, taking potshots at Congress leaders and other Dalit faces of the party and the opposition.
“The recent video of two young Dalit men being brutally tortured in Nagaur, Rajasthan is horrific & sickening. I urge the state Government to take immediate action to bring the perpetrators of this shocking crime to justice,” Gandhi, 49, said in a tweet.
The Congress’ Scheduled Caste team had also condemned the torture and asked Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to investigate the case and punish the culprits involved in it.
Vikas Pathak, Nagaur district police chief, said the police hadn’t received a complaint from the two men. “As soon as we were informed (about the video), the accused were identified and later arrested,” Vikas Pathak, Nagarur superintendent of police (SP).
The incident had taken place in Karnu village where the two men were allegedly caught stealing ₹50,000. The accused stripped the two. In the video, one person is seen holding a screwdriver and dipping it in a bottle of petrol before trying to shove it inside him. The victims were screaming and pleading to leave them.
The two men, reported to be brothers, are aged 18 and 26.
Police said the suspects had been identified as Bhiv Singh, Aidan Laskhman Singh, Jasu Singh, Sawai Singh, Harma Singh and Ganpat Ram.
A first information report filed against them charges them with causing hurt, wrongful confinement and under provisions of the Dalit atrocity law.
