Andhra Pradesh: Dalit man thrashed, urinated upon over affair
What's the story
While the urination incident in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi is still fresh in people's minds, another unpleasant incident has reportedly taken place in Andhra Pradesh. A video has emerged showing a Dalit man being thrashed and urinated upon by a group of nine men in Ongole over an alleged love affair. The police has arrested six people, while two minors were detained.
Details
Victim thrashed, urinated by 2 men in inebriated state: Police
According to the police, the group of nine men beat the victim, Mota Naveen, a member of the Scheduled Tribe, and two men urinated on him in an inebriated state. The video of the act was secured five days ago after they intensified their probe. They have also identified the main suspect as Manne Ramanjaneyulu.
Background
Incident result of dispute over love affair: Report
Shockingly, Naveen and Ramanjaneyulu were childhood friends, per India Today. They had 50 cases of theft registered against them in Andhra Pradesh and other states. The disagreement arose over Naveen's relationship with a girl related to Ramanjaneyulu's friend. On June 19, Ramanjaneyulu called Naveen to an isolated place to settle the matter but instead beat him up.
Official
Police register attempt to murder case, 8 suspects held
The police has registered a case against the accused under Section 307 (attempt to commit murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Out of the nine suspects, six were arrested, and two minors were detained while the prime suspect, Ramanjaneyulu, was still on the run.
Recent incident
Recent incidents of public urination, beating
The disturbing event took place only weeks after the alleged video of a man urinating on a tribal laborer in the Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh went viral. After CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan took cognizance, the accused was arrested. Separately, two Dalit men were reportedly caught and thrashed by locals in Shivpuri district after a few women accused them of harassment.
Outrage
MP urination incident accused was linked to BJP
The latest incident has triggered outrage in poll-bound Andhra Pradesh over two weeks after the urination incident in MP, where the accused allegedly has links to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Andhra Pradesh is currently ruled by the YSR Congress Party, a former BJP ally. The opposition had cornered the BJP, claiming the accused was an aide of BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla.