A 19-year-old Dalit man was brutally beaten with bamboo sticks allegedly by family members of his upper caste girlfriend in a village in Kanpur Dehat district with three men arrested in connection with the case on Saturday, police said.
The incident took place in Aghu Kamalpur village of Akbarpur area on Thursday, but came to light on Friday evening when a video clip of the incident went viral on social media prompting the police to lodge an FIR, said a senior police official.
As they pummel the man, he is asked to name his caste. Upon learning that he is from a Scheduled Caste, the blows get brutal and more insistent, said the official.
The victim identified as Sarvan Sankhwar, a painter, had gone to Aghu Kamalpur village to meet his girlfriend who belongs to an upper caste family, said Superintendent of Police (Kanpur Dehat) Keshav Kumar Chaudhary.
When the girl's family spotted Sankhwar, they pulled him by his hair, allegedly tied him to a pole and started beating him with sticks and even hit his private parts, the SP said.
After coming to know about the video, the Akbarpur police called Sankhwar to the police station and filed an FIR based on his statement, said Additional SP Ghanshyam Chaurasia.
The girl's father, Sanjay Verma, and other family members have been booked under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Three persons, identified through the video, were arrested on Saturday, the ASP said, adding that they would be produced before the court on Sunday morning.
The arrested persons were identified as Manish Vishkarma (28), Shiva Pal (50) and Survesh Pal (40), all residents of Akbarpur area.
The identities of five more people, who can be seen beating the youth, were also established, said Circle Officer (Akbarpur) Arun Kumar Singh.
“We are trying to find out their hideouts and three teams have been formed to arrest them”, Singh added.
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