Now Reading: Dalit man forced to eat cattle dung by vigilantes in Maharashtra
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Dalit man forced to eat cattle dung by vigilantes in Maharashtra
Six men, suspected to be Bajrang Dal members, have been booked for allegedly assaulting a Dalit truck driver and forcing him to eat cattle dung in Jalna district, Maharashtra. The incident occurred…
Six men, suspected to be Bajrang Dal members, have been booked for allegedly assaulting a Dalit truck driver and forcing him to eat cattle dung in Jalna district, Maharashtra. The incident occurred in May 2026, but the FIR was lodged on Thursday after a video of the assault went viral.
The complainant, Parameshwar Suhas Hiwale, told police he was returning from a cattle market with his 11-year-old son and a friend when the group waylaid his pickup truck. They allegedly hurled casteist slurs, forced dung into his mouth, and threatened to kill him if he reported the matter. His son was also threatened.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Police said none of the six accused has been arrested yet, and an investigation is ongoing.
Indian Opinion Analysis
This is the latest in a string of cow-vigilante attacks in Maharashtra, where a 2023 Bombay High Court ruling directed police to register cases against such groups under the Maharashtra Police Act. The delay in filing the FIR, three months after the incident and only after a video surfaced, points to the gap between legal safeguards and on-ground enforcement. The SC/ST Act mandates a preliminary inquiry within seven days and arrest where prima facie evidence exists, but police have not yet made any arrests. The next step will be whether the Jalna police charge the accused under the stringent SC/ST Act provisions, which require a special court trial.
Source: thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
