By Maktoob
A Dalit journalist was allegedly assaulted and subjected to caste-based abuse on Wednesday while covering a public grievance programme at the Gogunda SDM office in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district.
According to the FIR, Journalist Lakhan Salvi alleged that Gopal Lodha, a resident of Gogunda, assaulted him and hurled caste-based abuses at him after obstructing his camera with his mobile phone while Salvi was covering villagers submitting a memorandum at the Gogunda SDM office.
Salvi moved away and was taken by people to the verandah of the tehsil office, but Lodha allegedly followed him and attacked him again.
Salvi alleged that Lodha struck him on the head and face with a “sharp pointed weapon” and also attempted to attack his eye and hit his private parts, before people intervened.
The complaint states that Salvi suffered a head injury and began bleeding, and while he was being treated at a nearby community health centre, Gopal Lodha and his brother Kailash Lodha allegedly arrived and attacked him again before fleeing.
Salvi further alleged that Gopal Lodha had previously subjected him to caste-based abuse and said the Wednesday incident involved both caste-based slurs and what he described as a potentially fatal assault.
The FIR was registered on August 19, 2026, at Gogunda police station under Sections 115(2), 126(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including Sections 3(1) and 3(2)(va).
The case has been assigned for investigation to Deputy Superintendent of Police Chagan Purohit, according to the FIR.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.