A Dalit student was assaulted, robbed, and subjected to casteist remarks in Deoband, Saharanpur. The victim’s father filed a complaint with the SSP on Thursday afternoon, demanding strict action by filing a case against the accused. The family alleges that the local police neither took timely action against the accused nor provided immediate medical attention to the injured student.
Narendra Kumar, a resident of Gandhi Colony, stated in a petition to the SSP that his son, Shiva, is a Class 10 student at Guru Ram Rai Inter College. Due to his financial difficulties, he drives a battery-powered rickshaw in the evenings to support his studies. It is alleged that on the night of June 30th, between 9:30 and 10:00 pm, Shiva was returning from dropping a passenger at the railway station when some people stopped him near the station.
Abused and beaten with kicks and punches
According to the complaint, the youths near the railway station abused the student, used casteist slurs, and kicked and punched him. The attackers are also accused of snatching 3,000 rupees from Shiva’s pocket for school course payments and the cash earned by driving a rickshaw throughout the day. Hearing the noise, people present at the scene somehow rescued the student from the clutches of the accused.
The victim’s family says that when they arrived at the scene after receiving information, the accused also misbehaved with them. Upon informing the police, they arrived, but it is alleged that the accused used casteist slurs and openly threatened them even in front of them. The complaint claims that the entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed nearby.
The victim’s mother, Pooja, stated that her son, along with studying, earns his tuition and textbooks through manual labor. She alleged that some people near the station are involved in hooliganism and drug trafficking. Despite filing complaints at numerous places, justice has yet to be served.
In a petition to the SSP, the family has demanded the registration of a case against the accused and their arrest, the removal of illegal kiosks near the railway station, action against the drug trade, and an impartial investigation of the entire matter.
Tariq Siddiqui | Saharanpur
Courtesy: Hindi News