The police in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday detained four persons in connection with the death of a Dalit man. He was beaten up by locals for allegedly trying to sell his 16-year-old daughter. Police, however, said it was not a case of lynching.

The incident happened on Sunday evening. On Monday, a video, purportedly of it, went viral and the man died in the district hospital.

According to Madhuvan Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police, Mainpuri, Sarvesh Diwakar, 45, who worked as a confectioner, was beaten up by his “drinking partners” when he told them that he had sent his daughter to Noida to live with a relative for a while. “They mistook it as he has sold his daughter and thrashed him with lathis and rained kicks and punches on him. Sarvesh ran to the rooftop of one of these locals, where he was beaten again. But here somebody shot a video of the incident.”

Later, Mr Kumar said, Sarvesh was taken to the hospital by locals where doctors diagnosed him with internal injuries and he died on Monday. “We have registered an FIR under section 302 and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act. On the basis of the video, we have identified five persons and have detained four of them. They are in their 20s, hail from different castes, and knew the deceased. During questioning, they admitted to their crime and will soon be sent to jail.”

Mr Kumar said the daughter returned on Monday evening and corroborated that she was sent to live with an acquaintance.

SP’s charge

The Samajwadi Party has described the incident as “a case of lynching by goons of the Bajrang Dal”. In a tweet, it promised ₹1 lakh to the family of the deceased and demanded ₹ 10 lakh as compensation from the government.

Mr. Kumar said that during investigation they did not find any link of the accused with the right-wing group. “It emerged that Sarvesh was a habitual drinker and had the habit of borrowing money and not returning it. His wife has been living in Kolkata with two of their kids for the last few months,” he added.