AHMEDABAD: A 20-year-old Dalit man was subjected to a brutal assault by four men of the Thakor community outside in Nedroda village of Patan district, for sitting on a cot belonging to a member of the Thakor community, on Monday evening.
A video of the incident – showing the Dalit daily wage worker, Ashwin Parmar, who is physically handicapped, being beaten and abused – went viral on Wednesday. In his FIR, Ashwin said he has had a disability in his left leg since birth.
On Monday evening, the prime accused, Alpesh Vasant Thakor, came to Ashwin and asked him why he sat on the cot belonging to the Thakor community. In the FIR, Ashwin said that he apologized to Thakor, but was subjected to caste-based slurs and pushed to the ground. As he tried to pick himself up, Alpesh and three others – Jayesh Valji Thakor, Kiran Vasant Thakor and Vikram Vasant Thakor from Nedroda village – began kicking and punching him. Ashwin began screaming after which villagers rescued him. Ashwin told TOI, “I had sat on the cot 15 days ago and ever since then they were following me and looking for a chance to beat me. Alpesh had also threatened to beat me earlier, when he saw me dining at an eatery. I was helpless before Alpesh and his aides. They also wounded me in the neck with a knife. There were five men assaulting me, but the police did not mention one of them, Vikram Shambhuji Thakor, in the FIR,” Parmar said.
K K Pandya, DySP Sidhpur and investigating officer of the case, said all four accused were booked under IPC along with charges under the SC/ST Atrocities Act.
Courtesy : TOI
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