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1 held for assaulting, forcing Dalit man to lick slippers in UP's Sonbhadra: Police

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Sonbhadra: A contractual employee of the electricity department has been arrested in this Uttar Pradesh district for allegedly beating up a Dalit man and forcing him to lick his slippers, police said on Sunday.

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A video purportedly of the incident had gone viral on social media, they said, adding that the accused has been "terminated from the service".

In his complaint submitted to police on July 8, Rajendra Chamar, the Dalit man, said he belongs to the Scheduled Castes (SC) category.

"On July 6, he had gone to his maternal uncle's place, where the electricity supply was disrupted. He was trying to locate the fault when the contractual employee of the power department, Tejbali Singh Patel, started hurling abuses at him.

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"He hurled casteist words at the complainant and also made him lick his chappal. Subsequently, the locals intervened," a police officer said.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered against Patel under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, Circle Officer Amit Kumar said, adding that the accused has been arrested.

In the video, the accused is also seen twisting one arm of the complainant, pushing him on to the ground, climbing up on his chest and slapping him. He is also seen making the complainant lick his slippers.

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In a tweet on Saturday night, the Uttar Pradesh Police said, "DGP UP has taken cognizance of the incident and directed the DIG range to visit the scene of the crime. An FIR has been registered under the SC/ST Act, and the accused has been promptly arrested. The DGP has given directions for the strictest legal action against the accused."

On Sunday, the state police wrote on Twitter: "Update - Due to the swift action taken by @sonbhadrapolice, Tejbali Singh Patel, the arrested accused, has been terminated from service by the electricity department."

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh took a jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue.

In a tweet in Hindi, the Rajya Sabha MP said, "This is Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh. A devil is making a Dalit man lick his slippers. In your (BJP) rule, Dalits are not even considered human beings, how do you talk about uniform civil laws?"

BJP Uttar Pradesh Dalit Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes
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