Police said the brothers claimed they wanted to instil fear among other employees against unauthorised absence from work. (Representational Image)
A Dalit employee of a petrol pump in Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad was allegedly tied to a pole and flogged with a whip because people running the pump wanted to instil fear in employees against being absent from work. Akash alias Chintu Sahu and his brother Deepak Sahu, who run the HP petrol pump, were arrested after the victim, Ajay Ahirwar, acquired the video of the flogging and approached police on July 2.
The incident happened a few days ago and Ahirwar fled to a relative’s house out of fear, but complained when he got hold of the incident’s video. The victim told police and the media that he was injured in a road accident and could not report to work for a few days. He alleged he was called to the petrol pump and thrashed by the duo after they tied his hands.
Police said the petrol pump is owned by a resident of Bhopal and the Sahu brothers run it on contract. A case has been registered against the duo at the Hoshangabad (Rural) Police Station under IPC sections, including 342 (wrongful confinement), 294 (obscene words), and Section 3 (1) (R) (S) (intentional insult or intimidation and abusing SC/ST member within public view) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 7 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
Police said the brothers claimed they wanted to instil fear among other employees against unauthorised absence from work.