A video of two Dalits being mercilessly beaten by the pradhan of a Meerut village surfaced on social media on April 19. The pradhan of Kaili village has been arrested, police said.
In the video, he is seen hitting the youth with a stick, making them squat and loop their arms behind their knees to grip their ears. Some people are seen standing alongside him. Three chickens are also seen in the video.
The audio suggests that the pradhan was reprimanding the youth for catching chickens during the lockdown.
Avinash Pandey, Superintendent of Police (Rural), Meerut, told The Hindu the incident happened on April 16 near the Kaili railway station which falls under Kharkhauda Police Station.
The police had already taken note of the incident and sent the pradhan, Amit Tyagi, to jail. He said an FIR was registered on the complaint of Ankit Kumar, a resident of village Naya Gaon Dhirkheda under Sections 323, 341, 307 and 504 of IPC, Section 3 (2) v of the SC/ST Act and Section 67 of the IT Act.
“Even if somebody is breaking the rules of lockdown, nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands. The police had taken action before the video surfaced on the social media,” said Mr. Pandey, adding the sale of chicken was allowed during the lockdown.