NHRC sends notice to Gujarat govt after Dalit beaten to death

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report claiming that a 40-year-old Dalit rag picker in Rajkot district's Shapar village has been flogged to death over collecting scraps in a village.

The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims. Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Gujarat chief secretary to submit a report in the matter within four weeks along with measures taken for relief to the affected families.

In the video, which was first tweeted by Gujarat lawmaker Jignesh Mevani, the victim, identified as Mukesh Vaniya, could be seen held to a big door of an auto factory through ropes. Two men, one after the other, then flogged him to death. Vaniya's wife and his acquaintance were allegedly beaten up too, but she somehow escaped and called help, however, by that time it was too late.

Following a complaint lodged by the victim's wife, the police had registered an offence of murder and other charges against five unidentified persons under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The incident took place on Sunday when he, along with his wife and an acquaintance, was picking rags around the factory and they had an altercation with the five accused following which the rag pickers were beaten up, in which Vaniya died.