Tension has gripped Ghosunda village in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district after a 15-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly assaulted and abused on caste grounds inside a temple complex. Dalit organisations have strongly condemned the incident and demanded the immediate arrest of the accused.
The victim, Chetan Prakash Regar, belongs to the Regar community. In his complaint filed at Chandaria police station, he said the incident took place on February 7 at around 8 am at the Lakshmi Narayan Temple in the village.
“How Did You Come To Our Temple?”: FIR Details Caste Abuse
According to the FIR, Chetan had gone to the temple for darshan. While returning, he was allegedly stopped by a man identified as Shubham Sukhwal, who abused him using caste-based slurs.
Chetan stated in his complaint that Sukhwal said, “You cobbler, how did you become capable enough to come to our temple?” When Chetan replied that anyone can visit the temple, the accused allegedly became angry and used more casteist abuses. He also allegedly threatened him, saying that if he came to the temple again, he would be killed.
The complaint further states that Sukhwal slapped Chetan, pushed him to the ground and kicked and punched him. Another man, identified as Pawan, also allegedly joined in the assault. Chetan said he somehow managed to escape while the accused continued shouting threats and warning members of his community not to enter the temple again.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com. Read the full story here.