Elderly Dalit forced to lick 'urine' in Lucknow; UP govt orders probe, vows strict action

Lucknow, Oct 22 (PTI) A probe has been launched into the incident where a Dalit elderly man was allegedly made to lick his urine here, and the guilty would not be spared, the Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said on Wednesday.

"The government is sensitive to such incidents and stands firmly with Dalits, the poor, and the deprived. Whoever is found guilty will face strict action. A detailed investigation is being conducted," Pathak told reporters here.

On October 20, a 60-year-old Dalit man, Rampal Rawat, was allegedly forced to lick the ground near Sheetla Temple in the Purani Bazaar area under Kakori Police Station area, after being accused of urinating there, police said.

Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad condemned the act, calling it a "shameful display of caste-based mindset." "This is not just a crime but a naked exhibition of centuries-old casteist and feudal mentality. Accused RSS worker not only humiliated the elderly man with casteist slurs but also forced him to lick the ground," Azad said in a post on X.

The Dalit leader demanded the arrest of the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and government protection and compensation for the victim.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged, "Being a Dalit has become a crime under the BJP rule." He said a party delegation would soon meet the victim and his family.

On Tuesday, in a post in Hindi on X, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "Someone's mistake doesn't mean they should be punished with humiliating, inhumane punishment. Change alone will bring about a change!" The Congress in an X post denounced the violence and alleged that the perpetrator was an RSS worker.

"In Lucknow, an RSS worker forced an elderly Dalit man to lick his urine. The elderly man was sitting in a temple courtyard when, due to illness, he accidentally urinated.

"An enraged RSS worker rushed to the scene and, while hurling casteist slurs at him, forced him to lick the urine," the party said.

Police, however, said the accused has no links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a right-wing outfit.

The Congress, all the same, blamed the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party for the atrocious act and said it was a consequence of their 'Manuvaadi' ideology.

"This incident, which took place in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, is a blot on humanity. The perpetrators should receive the harshest punishment.

"This incident is a symbol of the RSS-BJP's anti-Dalit mentality. Hatred for Dalits runs in their blood. This is why they want to abolish the Constitution and implement 'Manuvaad' in the country, so that they can exploit people on the basis of caste," it said.

The accused, Swami Kant, alias Pammu, has been arrested.

Rampal's grandson, Mukesh Kumar, claimed that his grandfather had had breathing difficulties and that he accidentally urinated while coughing.

"My grandfather has breathing difficulties. If he does not take the prescribed medicines, he may not survive. Yesterday evening, he started coughing, and he accidentally urinated. After this, Pammu came there and started hurling casteist words at my grandfather," he said.

Mukesh Kumar said that his grandfather got frightened, and when he was asked to lick the urine, he licked it.

After this, the accused made his father wash the spot, he claimed.

He also said his grandfather did not tell anyone about the incident the night it happened.

Mukesh Kumar said that the main temple was at least 40 metres from the spot where his grandfather was accused of urinating.

Rampal, in his complaint, said he was drinking water at Sheetla Maataa Mandir in the Kakori area of Lucknow on Monday evening, when Swami Kant accused him of urinating there.

"I said that I had not urinated, and water had fallen there. But, he (Pammu) did not relent and hurled casteist abuses at me. He threatened me and made me lick it," he said.

Swami Kant has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and under provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Asked whether the Dalit man was actually made to lick the urine, a police source told PTI, "This is a matter of investigation." "The victim is saying he was made to lick the ground, while the accused was saying that he was not made to lick, but to touch it. A case has been registered against the accused, and he has been arrested," the source said. PTI ABN VN VN