Dalit man in Karnataka beaten up, sister stripped

Bengaluru: In a horrendous case, a Dalit man was brutally beaten up, his sister stripped and parents kicked around in Vijayapura for allegedly touching the vehicle of people belonging to the Lingayat and Kuruba communities.

Incidentally, while CM BS Yediyurappa belongs to the Lingayat community, the leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah is from the Kuruba community.

The video of the 28-year-old man being beaten by an angry mob went viral on social media today.

In the video, the Dalit man is seen lying on the road naked, crying out in pain even as he is being beaten up with sticks. The crowd is seen baying for his blood.

The angry mob did not spare his 26-year-old sister, whose clothes were torn by the mob and she was also allegedly sexually harassed in the middle of the road. The man’s parents tried to intervene, but they were kicked by the angry mob.  

People in the crowd, however alleged that the young man had sexually harassed a woman on the road.

The Talikoti Police have registered an FIR against 13 people under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty of a woman), 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach peace), 506 (criminal intimidation)and 149 (unlawful assembly with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (Amendment) Act 2015.

The other accused are on the run. “We have offered protection for the victim’s family and we expect to arrest the accused persons soon,” the Talikoti police said.