A caste Hindu businesswoman and her employees were booked in Gujarat's Morbi town on Thursday for allegedly forcing a Dalit man, a former employee of her firm, to apologize by placing her footwear in his mouth, for demanding his salary.
According to the FIR, the victim, Nilesh Dalsaniya, a 21-year-old Dalit man along with his brother and neighbour, had gone to the office of Raniba Industries Pvt Ltd (RIPL), a private firm led by businesswoman Vibhuti Patel, on Thursday evening.
Nilesh demanded that Vibuthi pay his salary for the 16 days he had worked in the exports department of RIPL in October. However, one Om Patel, who identified himself as Vibuthi Patel's brother, assaulted him. Vibuthi and her employees also allegedly dragged Nilesh to the terrace of the commercial building and beat him up mercilessly.
“Vibhuti Patel forced me to take her chappal in my mouth and made me apologise… She warned me that I shall be killed if I ventured on Ravapar Road or if I dared to file a complaint,” the FIR quoted Nilesh as having stated in his complaint, as reported by Maktoob Media.
The FIR invokes IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506(2) (criminal intimidation), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object).The accused have also been booked under the SC/ST Act.
Efforts are on to arrest the accused.