LUCKNOW: A Dalit man, in Sonbhadra district in eastern UP, was allegedly assaulted and forced to lick the shoes of a contractual lineman of the power department, has appealed to CM Yogi Adityanath to demolish the house of the accused.
The incident had taken place on July 6, when Rajendra Chamar, a resident of Bahuar village under the Robertsganj police station area, visited his maternal uncle’s home in Baldih village under the Shahganj police station. On finding the electricity supply to his uncle’s house disrupted, Rajendra was trying to locate the fault when Tejbali Singh Patel, a contractual lineman with the electricity department, arrived and entered into a scuffle with the victim.
The man was assaulted by the lineman and videos of the act went viral on social media. The police registered an FIR against four men, including the accused lineman. Unsatisfied by the police's action, the victim petitioned the UP CM seeking to get the property of the accused destroyed.
According to circle officer Amit Kumar, an FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint of the victim against the contractual lineman Tejbali Singh Patel and others under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and under Section 323 (Voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Shahganj police station. The CO said that the accused had been arrested and further investigation was on. As per the FIR, Patel not only assaulted the victim but also abused him and forced him to lick his shoes after spitting on him.
In fact, two videos of the incident went viral on social media. In one video, the accused was seen twisting the complainant’s arm, pushing him onto the ground, climbing up on his chest and slapping him. In the other video, the accused can be seen making the complainant lick his footwear.
However, in a tweet on Saturday night, the Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that the state DGP had taken note of the incident and had issued directives to the DIG range to visit the scene of the crime. The DGP has also given directions for the strictest legal action against the accused.
Later, the arrested accused was terminated from service by the electricity department. However, the victim has sought action against the culprit beyond his arrest and police action. “With folded hands, I appeal to UP CM Yogi Adityanath Ji to do justice. I want his (Patel’s) house to be bulldozed. The way he treated me, a human, was inhumane,” said Rajendra said when senior police officers visited his house.