3 Dalit boys tied to pole, thrashed with sticks and chappals

Three Dalit boys were brutally beaten up by upper caste men in Harogeri village of Gadag district in Karnataka after they allegedly sent obscene messages to an upper caste girl.

The incident occurred on May 28 but only came to light recently.

When upper caste men learnt about the obscene messages, they tied the three Dalits to a flagpost, thrashed them with sticks, slippers, and ropes, and left them in a critically wounded condition.

One of the victim’s family alleged that their child, unable to bear the humiliation, tried to kill himself by consuming poison. He is currently battling for his life at the KIMS Hospital in Hubballi.

On May 30, the police registered cases against 60 upper caste men under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In addition to that, a POCSO case (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) has been registered against 30 people.

So far, eight people have been arrested.