Dalit man beaten and forced to drink urine

Four persons have been arrested in Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh on the charges of beating a Dalit man and forcing him to drink urine after he refused to work on their fields, the police said on Tuesday.

The station house officer of Hazratpur police station, Rajesh Kashyap, was also suspended for negligence in failing to lodge a case on the victim’s initial complaint.

Sitaram Valmiki, in his complaint, said that some influential men in his village beat him with shoes and slippers and abused him after he refused to harvest their crops.

Mr. Valmiki said he wanted to work on his own field first. He said the accused started hitting him when they found him gathering fodder in his field. He was then tied to a neem tree and beaten with slippers and shoes, he claimed.

“They also pulled my moustache and forced me to drink urine,” Mr. Valmiki told reporters. Though the incident took place last week, it came to light only after the newly appointed U.P. SC/ST Commission Chairman Brij Lal wrote to the police to take action.