Two Dalit men from Bihar’s Aurangabad district were allegedly beaten up and forced to lick spit from the ground. Their crime? They were unwilling to vote in favour of the accused Balwant Singh in a panchayat election.
Balwant Singh was contesting for the post of “Mukhiya” in Dumri Panchayat. On losing the election, he abused the two men Anil Kumar and Manjeet Kumar, and also made them do sit-ups.
Speaking to India Today, Superintendent of police Kantesh Mishra said, “The accused has been arrested based on a complaint by the two youths,” He added that a charge sheet will be filed against Singh soon.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. Shiv Kumar Rao, the additional superintendent of police in charge of the Aurangabad sub-division, told PTI that the police were examining the credibility of the video as part of their investigation.
The video purportedly showed the accused accusing the victims of drinking the liquor he provided them before the elections but not voting for him. He is also seen abusing the victims, employing caste slurs.
According to PTI, Singh told the police that he was punishing the men for creating a ruckus in an inebriated state.
Commenting on the incident, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to take cognizance of the incident, failing which his team would be compelled to travel to Aurangabad.