Dalit Beaten Up in Muzaffarnagar for Allegedly ‘Insulting Gods’

The assailants forced the Dalit youth to chant ‘Jai mata Di’.

The Dalit man was beaten up for allegedly insulting the gods.

(Photo: The Quint)

The video of a Dalit youth being brutally beaten up with sticks in Muzaffarnagar’s Purkazi in UP surfaced on social media. In the video, assailants are seen forcing the Dalit youth to chant 'Jai mata Di', while kicking and abusing him simultaneously on grounds of having allegedly ‘insulted the gods’.

The police has lodged an FIR and launched a manhunt after the video started doing the rounds, according to The Indian Express.

The victim has been identified as a 27-year-old Dalit resident of Muzaffarnagar. An FIR under "strict sections" was lodged at the Purkazi Police station, according to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Anant Deo.

We are speaking to the victim and his family members and the accused have been identified as three-four Gujjar residents of the area. The incident took place in the Purkazi police station area.

Anant Deo, SSP, as quoted by <i>The Indian Express</i>.

(Photo: ANI)

An FIR under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and sections of the SC/ST Act and IT Act has been registered, the Police told The Indian Express.

The video was shot on Sunday according to the Express report and shows a man wearing a black helmet being beaten and kicked by three men as another one records the video. The assailants are also seen questioning the victim, "We don't criticise your Ambedkar, Why do you do it to ours?", according to The Indian Express.

Our teams are conducting raids to nab the accused. One of them has been brought in for questioning and arrests will be made soon.

Omvir Singh, SP, Muzaffarnagar, to <i>The Indian Express</i>

A police officer said they are looking into the fact that this could be linked with another incident from a month ago video went viral on the internet. “In that incident, gods were being ridiculed,” The Indian Express quoted a police officer as saying.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)