A 27-year-old Dalit man, Sagar Makwana, was allegedly assaulted and subjected to casteist slurs by five upper-caste men in Vajli village of Visavadar taluka, Junagadh, reportedly for sporting a moustache and beard. The attack also left his father-in-law, Jivan Karsan, critically injured.
According to Makwana’s complaint from his hospital bed, accused Shailesh Jebaliya, Lalo Bhupat Kathi Darbar, and three unidentified men confronted him while he was towing his broken-down motorcycle. They allegedly hurled casteist abuses and warned him not to keep a look “like upper-caste men” before attacking him.
Makwana escaped to his father-in-law’s house, but when the two went to speak to Jebaliya, Bhupat allegedly arrived with others, and the group assaulted them again. Locals intervened and rushed the injured to Junagadh Civil Hospital.
Police have filed charges under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for assault, rioting, and unlawful assembly, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Assistant Superintendent of Police Rohit Kumar said a team has been formed to arrest the accused, who live in the same village.
