An elderly Dalit man was allegedly forced to lick urine by a man identified as an RSS worker in Lucknow’s Kakori police station area.
The incident, which took place near Purani Bazar in the Sheetal Temple locality, has once again laid bare the deep-rooted caste violence and humiliation inflicted upon Dalits in parts of Uttar Pradesh.
According to reports, the victim, Rampal Pasi, who is ailing, accidentally spilled water while drinking. The accused allegedly accused him of urinating and, in an act of unspeakable cruelty, forced him to lick it up after fetching water.
Eyewitnesses said the elderly man was also subjected to casteist slurs and verbal abuse during the ordeal.
Human rights defenders and Dalit groups have condemned the incident as a “brazen display of caste arrogance and feudal mentality.” They emphasised that the assault was not only a physical act of violence but also “an attempt to break the spirit and dignity of an elderly Dalit man.”
Calling the incident “a blot on humanity and an assault on the soul of the Constitution,” Bhim Army chief and Azad Samaj Party president Chandrashekhar Azad MP demanded immediate action from the Uttar Pradesh government.
“Power has been exerted on the body, and the poison of casteism on the soul,” Azad said, calling for the immediate arrest of the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.