A 16-year-old Dalit student was brutally assaulted inside a government residential school hostel in Jharkhand after being falsely accused of stealing a mobile phone and money. The attack lasted nearly four hours, during which the teenager was stripped, beaten, and threatened with sexual assault.
The incident took place on July 14 when several students allegedly barged into the victim’s room while he was sleeping. They gagged him, dragged him to another room, and began the torture. Three of them hit him with belts while others filmed the entire episode on their phones.
Speaking to The Indian Express from his hospital bed, the young survivor described the horror he endured. “Three people hit me with belts while others filmed it. They then rubbed salt on my wounds and hit me again. They also threatened to sexually assault me,” he said.
Victim Forced to Do Push-Ups While Being Filmed
A video clip of the incident shows the terrified student pleading with his attackers while being forced to strip and do push-ups and sit-ups. The accused also used casteist slurs against him throughout the ordeal and warned him to keep quiet about what happened.
The teenager said the attackers took away his mobile phone too. “I was silent for two days, but when I could no longer bear the pain, I called my father using someone else’s phone,” he recounted.
His father revealed that this was not the first time his son had faced such abuse. “My son has been subjected to casteist slurs earlier, too,” the father alleged.
Family Protests Demand Arrests and Stronger Action
The victim’s family has been holding protests, demanding immediate arrest of all six accused students. They are also calling for the case to be registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for action against the school administration for failing to protect their son.
Police have registered an FIR against six students, but no arrests have been made so far. The local police station in charge, M D Iffar Ahmed, confirmed that an investigation is underway. Regarding the demand to invoke the Atrocities Act, he mentioned that one of the accused students also belongs to the Dalit community. However, he declined to share more details, citing the ongoing probe.
School Suspends Accused Students
The school administration has suspended the accused students from the institution. Meanwhile, the victim continues to receive treatment at a government hospital.
A local activist commented on the case, saying, “This is not just about theft allegations. The use of caste slurs and the brutal nature of the assault show this was a hate crime. The authorities must take swift action.”
