BHADOHI: A Dalit youth was brutally assaulted here and lost eyesight in one eye after an attacker allegedly pierced a motorcycle key when an argument over the former defecating near a canal escalated, police said on Monday.
The injured youth, Rahul, in early 20's, was referred in a critical condition from the district hospital to Varanasi on Sunday for advanced treatment.
According to police, the incident took place on Friday afternoon when Rahul had gone to a canal in the Aurai area to defecate.
This resulted in an argument between the victim and the accused, Shankar Bind, as the latter objected to Rahul defecating near the canal.
The attacker allegedly abused Rahul using caste-based slurs and assaulted him.
When Rahul tried to escape, the accused allegedly pierced a motorcycle key in his left eye and threatened to kill him, Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik said, adding that the victim collapsed on the ground in severe pain.
The accused fled the spot after locals gathered there.
The SP said police reached the spot after receiving information and shifted the injured youth to a community health centre, from where he was later admitted to the district hospital.
"As the injury to his left eye was severe, and he complained of loss of vision, doctors on Sunday referred him to the BHU Trauma Centre in Varanasi," Manglik said.
He said a case has been registered on the complaint of the victim's father, Ram Dhani, against the accused Shankar Bind under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Necessary legal action against the accused is being taken, and further investigation is underway, the SP added.