A daily wage labourer belonging to the Dalit community was reportedly brutally assaulted and humiliated by three members of the Patel family identified as Ramesh Patel, Arun Patel, and Gaurav Patel after he demanded his unpaid wages.
The disturbing incident took place in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Friday, October 4, when a Dalit man named Rinku Manjhi sought his dues for work done at a local poultry farm owned by one of the accused, Ramesh Patel.
According to Manjhi’s complaint, the confrontation escalated to violence, with assailants not only beating him but also subjecting him to humiliating acts of spitting and urination. The accused also hurled caste slurs at Manjhi. The accused then threatened to kill Manjhi if he complained to the police.
The victim reported being publicly assaulted while passersby remained silent due to the accused’s reputation for intimidation.
Subsequently, Manjhi filed a complaint on October 8 at the Bochaha police station. The police filed an FIR and launched a manhunt for the accused who are reportedly absconding.
The assault was captured on video, which was shared with the police as evidence. The clip shows two men pushing Manjhi to the ground and beating him up by the side of a road.
Speaking on the case, superintendent of police (SP) Vidya Sagar stated that the accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. “The labourer is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital and Muzzafarpur (Rural),” the SP said.
Enquiring over the allegations of spitting and urination, the officer replied, “We can say something about this only after an investigation is done.”