Screwdriver dipped in petrol put into Dalit man's private part for stealing money

The Rajasthan Police Wednesday arrested seven persons in connection with the case where two Dalit youths were beaten up on the suspicion of stealing money from a two-wheeler agency in Nagaur district. The matter came to light when multiple videos of the assault went viral Wednesday.

The incident took place under Nagaur’s Panchaudi station limits on Sunday, as per Panchaudi SHO Rajpal Singh. The SHO added that the FIR was lodged Wednesday after videos of the incident went viral.

“It was lunchtime and when the staff wasn’t around, the two youths, Panna Ram and Disha Ram, were allegedly trying to steal money from the cash register of the motorcycle agency,” SHO Singh said.

In their complaint, the two accused, who are also cousins, said that they had gone to the agency in Karnu village to get a motorcycle serviced when the staff accused them of stealing and beat them up.

A disturbing video of the assault shows a man allegedly dipping a screwdriver in petrol and then inserting it in private parts of one of the two youths. As the videos went viral on Wednesday, Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal said the incident shames humanity and that he has sought strict action against the accused.

“Initially, both sides had reached a compromise and no complaint was lodged with us. But once the videos went viral, we received a complaint and lodged an FIR under IPC sections for assault, wrongful confinement, as well as the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” Singh said.

On the basis of the videos, the police had identified and arrested seven persons. Meanwhile, another FIR was lodged by the staff against the two for the alleged theft. “It was a mob mentality. During questioning they (the staff members) said that they were angry and hence went quite far in punishing the alleged thieves,” the SHO said

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday termed the torture of two young Dalits in Rajasthan’s Nagaur as “horrific and sickening” and asked his party government in the state to take immediate action to bring the perpetrators to book.