A suspected case of caste-based violence has come to light in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal district, where an 18-year-old Dalit youth was allegedly beaten to death and his friend grievously injured over his relationship with a minor girl from an upper-caste family. The victim’s relatives have claimed that iron nails were found embedded in the body and demanded stringent action against those responsible for this act.

According to the copy of the FIR accessed by The Hindu, Dhanpal Lal, a resident of Deval village in Pratapnagar tehsil, received a phone call on the morning of June 8 from a man who identified himself as Yashbir Singh Panwar. The caller allegedly informed Mr. Dhanpal that his son, Ketan Lal, and his friend, Diwakar Dimri, remained in the custody of Panwar’s family on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Beaten black and blue

“The caller told me that he and his family had beaten my son and his friend black and blue and that they will throw him into a stream,” alleges the complaint, which added that when he rushed to the location, he found both his son and his son’s friend critically injured.

The FIR states that Ketan Lal, while being taken to hospital, told his father that he and his friend had been called to the accused person’s house around midnight and were allegedly assaulted through the night. The complaint further states that the deceased was targeted because he belonged to a Scheduled Caste community and that the two youths were beaten with sticks, metal rods and other objects. Mr. Dhanpal further claimed that iron nails had been driven into his son’s body and that a video documenting the injuries had been handed over to the police.

Stringent action needed

Describing the incident as a grave injustice against a member of the Scheduled Caste community, the family has demanded stringent action against those responsible for this act.

Police have registered a case under Sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Tehri Garhwal Senior Superintendent of Police Shweta Chaubey said an investigation into the allegations is under way.