Punjab Lower Caste Man, Who Was Thrashed And Forced To Drink Urine, Dies

In a shocking incident, a 37-year-old lower caste man was unpityingly beaten and forced to drink urine in Punjab’s Sangrur district, has succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Chandigarh, police said on Saturday. "The victim succumbed to injuries at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER)," Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SP) Sandeep Garg said. His legs had to be amputated due to the infection, the police said.

On October 21, the victim, who was a resident of Changaliwala village, got into an altercation with one Rinku and some other persons over some issue. The matter was resolved with the intervention of villagers, the police said. The victim had told police that on November 7, Rinku had called him to his house where the two talked about the issue.

He had alleged that he was then thrashed by four persons with a stick and an iron rod after being tied to a pillar and was forced to drink urine when he asked for water. Four persons—Rinku, Amarjit, Yadwinder and Binder—were arrested on charges of abduction, wrongful confinement, and under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at the Lehra police station in Sangrur, the police said.

Opposition Attack Congress Government Over The Incident

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) targeted the Congress-led state government over the incident, saying a "rule of jungle" was prevalent in the state.

Hitting out at the Congress regime for its alleged failure to stop such incidents, senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh claimed that Dalits were not feeling secure under the current dispensation. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said "barbaric treatment" was being meted out to Dalits under the Congress rule.

(With PTI Inputs)