In the third such incident in a week, two unidentified men on Tuesday allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old Dalit boy in a Gandhinagar village where two Dalits had earlier been attacked, allegedly by upper caste men, for sporting a moustache.
17-year-old Digant Maheria, a relative of the Dalit men thrashed last week for sporting a moustache in Limbodara village, was attacked when he was returning home from school.
A family member said Digant alleged that two bike-borne men intercepted the teenager and slashed his back with a blade.
Digant is the cousin of Piyush Parmar (24) who was allegedly thrashed by members of the Rajput community on September 25. The boy was accompanying Piyush when the incident took place, his kin have claimed.
"Digant told us that two unidentified men attacked him using a blade. He received some cuts behind his back in the attack. We have started the process of filing an FIR in the case," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Kalol division) V N Solanki said.
Digant's uncle Kirit Maheria claimed that his nephew was attacked because Piyush had earlier lodged an FIR against the upper caste men.
"Digant was present when Piyush was thrashed. Today, two men, who were wearing masks, intercepted Digant when he was returning home after giving his exam. The bikers told Digant that they have received Rs 1.5 lakh to attack those who had lodged the FIR," Kirit was quoted as saying by PTI.
An FIR was registered on September 27 at the Kalol police station under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in connection with the attack on Parmar.
"Before Digant could understand anything, one of them attacked him with a blade and made several cuts on his back. Digant received deep wounds in the attack. He is now out of danger," he claimed.
On September 29, one Krunal Maheria (30) of the same village had alleged in his complaint that he was assaulted by some Rajput men for "sporting a moustache".
On October 1, a 21-year-old Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men belonging to the upper caste Patel community for attending a garba event in Gujarat's Anand district.
(With PTI inputs)
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