2 Nabha residents booked for thrashing Dalit man

Two residents of Nabha’s Kheri Jattan village have been booked by the Phagwara Sadar police for allegedly thrashing a Dalit man of Nabha’s Sandhnoli village.

The victim Kuldeep Singh has claimed that last month, he was brutally beaten up by the accused and forced to name his caste.

Kuldeep, who is a combine harvester operator, was hired by accused Gurmeet Singh and Harvinder Singh to reap crop in Phagwara villages. The victim had informed them that he can work only for a week.

“After a week, when I asked for money, they requested me to work for one more day which I accepted,” said the victim.

“In the evening, when I asked for money, they started beating me up with an iron rod and said that they will not leave me in state where I will be able to work for someone else,” he added.

“They made me drink water when I was about to fall unconscious. The next morning they dropped me at the Phagwara bus stand,” Kuldeep said. He had suffered injuries all over his body and his arms were broken. The doctors had advised him to get iron plates to fix the bones but he could only afford to put plaster.

On Monday, Phagwara deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Surinder Chand visited the victim and conducted raid at the accused’s village for their arrest.

However, both Gurmeet and Harvinder are absconding. On delay in taking action, the DSP said that he investigated the case before registering the FIR and the doctor’s report was also pending in the matter.

Meanwhile, different social groups and activists assembled in Bhadson on Monday and submitted a memorandum with naib tehsildar Ashok Jindal demanding strict action against the accused and compensation for the victim.

“The dilly-dallying tactics of police encourages miscreants to suppress Dalits as they are assured of support from the administration in this government,” said Punjab state SC wing observer of Aam Aadmi Party, Dev Mann.