A Dalit youth in Jhansi was assaulted by a group of men who lured him away on the pretext of offering him a cigarette. The men beat him with slippers, fists, kicks and sticks, pointed a pistol at him and forced him to strip. They also made him touch one of their friend’s feet and recorded the entire assault on video. The incident took place on November 22 in a village under the Premnagar police station. The video surfaced today. Police have now registered a case and arrested three of the accused.
The victim said he was standing near Goswami Restaurant in Rajgarh when Nishant Saxena, Sukrit and Kanishk approached him. “They told me to come with them for a cigarette. All four of us went on one scooter,” he said. But instead of taking him to a shop, they took him to Nishant Saxena’s house where two others, Bhanu Pal and Ravindra, were already present. “They all beat me with kicks, punches and sticks. Ravindra recorded the video. They also hurled caste abuses at me and threatened me,” he added.
In the nearly five minute long video, the attackers can be heard repeatedly threatening and humiliating the youth. At one point Nishant asks him, “Do you remember what you said?” The victim tries to explain and holds his feet saying, “Brother, I admit my mistake.” The men push him onto a chair and threaten to take him to the police station. The youth folds his hands and pleads, “I don’t want to go anywhere. Please brother, let me go.”
The assault becomes more violent. One of the accused slaps him hard and says, “Do you know who I am? I am the king of Rajgarh.” The victim holds his ears and apologizes. When he says he did not call anyone, the attacker picks up a slipper and hits him repeatedly. Nishant then points a pistol at him and orders him to take off his clothes. Terrified, the victim says, “Brother, I swear on your life, let me go.” He is then kicked in the chest, hit with sticks and forced to touch the attacker’s feet. “I swear on my daughter I will not make a mistake again,” the victim says with folded hands.
CO Sadar Ramveer Singh said police registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with the SC ST Act after the video came to light. “We have arrested Sukrit, Anand Nayak and Kanishk Ahirwar. The main accused, Nishant Saxena, is absconding and efforts are on to arrest him. The reason behind the assault is still not clear,” he said.
