In Rajasthan’s Barmer district, an eight-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly beaten and hung upside down from a tree for touching a water pot. Police said one man has been arrested and two others detained in connection with the assault.
According to the boy’s mother, Puri Devi, the child was playing in their village, Bhakharpura, on Friday when two men, Narnaram Prajapat and Demaram Prajapat, asked him to clean a bathroom and collect garbage. After finishing the work, the boy requested water and touched their pot, which reportedly triggered the brutal attack.
“They took him to Narnaram’s house, tied him upside down to a tree and kept beating him,” Puri Devi said. She added that when she and her mother-in-law tried to stop them, the accused barged into their home and attacked them as well.
The assault only ended when a relative of the boy started recording the incident on his phone.
Circle Officer Sukhram Bishnoi confirmed the violence. “Prima facie investigation and medical examination confirm the boy was brutally beaten and hung upside down. However, the allegation that touching a water pot led to the assault is still under investigation,” he said.
Police registered an FIR on August 30, naming three men from the village — Narnaram, Demaram, and Ruparam Prajapat. They have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing hurt, wrongful confinement, and kidnapping, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com.