Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad have registered an FIR against several students and others after a Class 11 student from a Dalit community was allegedly assaulted by his classmates and subjected to casteist abuse.
The student’s father, Mahesh Kumar, 45, a mason, alleged that his son returned home with multiple injuries on October 6 after being beaten by classmates at school. He also claimed that the teenager had faced caste-based harassment for more than a month.
According to The Indian Express, Kumar filed a police complaint on October 8. Police registered an FIR on Sunday under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, along with sections relating to culpable homicide, intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of peace and aggravated criminal intimidation.
A senior police officer said, “We have registered an FIR and are investigating the allegations.”
Father Alleges Month-Long Caste Harassment
Kumar alleged that his son’s classmates repeatedly made casteist remarks against him, including comments such as, “Do you want to be Ambedkar?” and “We won’t let you study.”
He claimed that on October 6, as the school day was ending, the students again abused his son before calling several others and assaulting him.
“They also called five-seven friends and thrashed my son with kicks and punches and beat him with a belt,” Kumar told The Indian Express.
The father alleged that his son lost consciousness following the assault.
Student Struggling to Return to School
Kumar said his son was deeply affected by the incident and had attended school only once since the alleged assault.
He said the student’s teacher had called him to collect his son after the teenager complained of pain following a couple of hours at school.
Kumar also said his son had previously been irregular in attending classes, adding that the teenager had told him his classmates had been harassing him repeatedly.
