A Dalit man in Karnataka's Vijayapura district was allegedly stripped and thrashed on Saturday, 18 July, by an angry mob after "he touched a bike of a man who belonged to the upper caste", police said. The man's family was also assaulted by the mob.
After the incident, whose video has gone viral on social media, the man lodged a complaint with the police in which he named 13 men, reported NDTV.
A case was registered under SC/ST Act and sections 143, 147 324, 504,506,149 of the IPC, reported ANI.
On Monday, 20 July, a counter case was registered against the man that said the crowd was angry because the 32-year-old man “took off his clothes and made obscene gestures at two girls who were washing clothes at the site”, reported NDTV.
Speaking to the news channel, senior police officer Anupam Aggarwal said, “When an investigation team reached the site of the incident today, they were told that the 32-year-old was beaten up when he took off his clothes and started showing his private parts to two girls who were washing clothes. We have registered a counter case under Section 354 of the IPC.”
In the video that has surfaced, the man can be seen being pinned to the ground while a crowd of men rain blows on him and his family.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)