Four upper-caste Hindu men allegedly assaulted and humiliated a 16-year-old Dalit boy in Kanpur after he touched a bucket of water at a public handpump, with the teenager alleging that the accused fractured his arm and forced him to lick spit from their shoes.
The incident was reported from Jhakhra-Sambharpur village under the Sachendi Police Station area in Kanpur on May 2, when the 16-year-old Dalit boy, son of a farm labourer, allegedly faced assault after touching a bucket kept near a public handpump while attempting to drink water after working in agricultural fields. The bucket reportedly belonged to upper-caste villagers.
According to The Telegraph, the boy said, “When I walked over and took a mugful of water, Sanjay Rajput, his brother Deepak, and their associates Sagar Kumar and Patiya Kumar came running and snatched the mug off my hands.”
He alleged that the accused abused him with casteist slurs and accused him of polluting the water source because he was a Dalit. He said he was beaten for nearly half an hour.
“They kicked and punched my father too when he came to rescue me. We kept apologising, but they wouldn’t stop beating us. Then Sanjay spit on his shoes and forced me to lick it. They also poured water into my shoes and made me drink it,” he said.
The assault allegedly left him with a fractured arm. When the boy’s father attempted to intervene, he was also allegedly assaulted and suffered injuries, including a fractured rib.
The accused also allegedly sprinkled Ganga water around the handpump area to “purify” the place after he touched the bucket.
The family initially hesitated to approach the authorities due to fear and pressure within the village. Villagers later gathered at the spot after hearing the commotion and cries during the assault, following which the accused allegedly fled.
The alleged atrocity came to wider public attention on Sunday, a day after a video purportedly showing a backward-caste youth being forced to lick spit at gunpoint in Chandauli district began circulating on social media.
Police later registered an FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with other charges. Sanjay Rajput was taken into custody, while efforts were underway to arrest the remaining accused.
Manoj Kumar Singh, assistant commissioner of police for the Panki area of Kanpur district, described the incident as a “fight between some people”.
Police Commissionerate Kanpur Nagar, in a statement posted on X, said, “On 02 May 2026, a dispute arose between two parties in the village of Jhakra under the jurisdiction of Sachendi Police Station over the issue of dumping garbage and using the toilet in the field, which later escalated into a physical altercation.”
“During the investigation, the allegations mentioned in the FIR regarding forcing him to lick spit and making him drink water from a shoe have not been confirmed. The case has essentially been found to be a mutual dispute and physical altercation between the two parties,” the statement further said.
Police said the boy sustained injuries and underwent a medical examination, following which a case was registered under relevant sections and the SC/ST Act. Action is being taken against the remaining accused, and the investigation is being conducted by Assistant Police Commissioner of Panki Manoj Kumar Singh.
Reacting to the incident, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee alleged that “casteist thugs thriving under the patronage of those in power” had brutally assaulted the Dalit father and son.
The party further alleged that the incident reflected the spread of “Manuvaad” under the rule of the BJP and RSS, calling the assault “a direct attack on Babasaheb’s Constitution, equality and humanity.”
Avinash Pande, General Secretary of the Indian National Congress, said the incident was “deeply shocking” and raised “serious questions about the core spirit of our democracy and Constitution.”
Pande said that if humiliation, violence and oppression continued in the name of caste even today, it reflected the persistence of caste-based discrimination in society. He demanded an impartial investigation, strict action against the accused, and protection and justice for the affected family.
“The Constitution grants dignity and equal rights to all — no form of caste-based oppression can be tolerated,” he said.
Vinay Ratan Singh, National President of the Bhim Army Bharat Ekta Mission, said the attack was “a shameful assault on humanity” and evidence that “even today, Dalit society is not considered equal human beings.”
Singh demanded the immediate arrest of all the accused, invocation of stringent provisions under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and compensation, security, and medical treatment for the victim’s family.
The incident has also drawn attention to the wider pattern of caste-based violence in Uttar Pradesh. According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, the state recorded the highest number of atrocities against Dalits, with 15,130 cases registered in 2023 and 14,642 in 2024.
Courtesy : Maktoob Media
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