A 22-year-old Dalit man was allegedly tortured by cops and was forced to lick urine by a sub-inspector in Karnataka, India.
Police picked him up on May 10 and he was taken to the Gonibeedu police station after a married woman went missing from the area, reported Times Now. The action was taken after an investigation revealed that he had called up the woman around six months ago. While he was in police custody, the youngster, KL Punith, was allegedly physically assaulted and harassed.
Punith alleged that his hands and legs were tied with a rope and he was suspended from the ceiling. He alleged that he was beaten up by the police. Police brutality didn't end there. When he asked for water, sub-inspector Arjun Honkere threatened another accused to urinate on his face.
Later, Punith was made to lick the urine from the floor. After being harassed for six hours, he was released from custody.
Following the 22-year-old's complaint, the Deputy Superintendent of Police started an inquiry to investigate the matter. The accused SI was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Act.
In a similar incident last month, a Dalit boy was allegedly forced to lick spit and drink urine in Gaya district of Bihar. It came to light after a video of the purported incident started trending online. The video showed the 17-year-old boy kneeling on the floor of a house and licking spit after being threatened by others.
Several people spat on the floor, which the teenager was forced to lick. He was also supposedly made to consume urine. Police came into the picture after someone forwarded the clip to Gaya senior superintendent of police Aditya Kumar. The footage was verified, traced and six people were arrested, reported The Telegraph Online.
“The 17-year-old boy had eloped with a 15-year-old girl of his village on April 2. Both belong to the Manjhi caste. Both were caught by their family members and brought back two days later to the house of former mukhiya Abloo Singh, who chaired a panchayat. The boy was made to lick spit. The girl’s father, uncle and brother were among the people who spat,” Kumar said.
