Dalit teen assaulted, made to lick feet; 8 arrested

Eight youth were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli for allegedly assaulting a Dalit teen. The boy was made to lick the feet of one of his assaulters.

In a video of the incident, the assaulters can be heard threatening the Dalit teen and using casteist slur. The victim also sustained injuries after being thrashed with belts.

An FIR was registered after the teenager, a student of class 10, complained to the police. The incident took place on April 10.

The FIR has also invokes the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The victim told the Indian Express that he was taken to a secluded spot by one of the eight where they proceeded to humiliate and assault him. After assaulting him, the accused left him on the spot, where he was later rescued from by some others.

All eight accused have been arrested, the SHO of the local police station said. The police say that it was a case of enmity between the boys, while the teenager told the Indian Express that he didn’t know them.

Some of the accused are minors and appropriate action will be taken against them, the police said.