4 upper caste men arrested for assaulting Dalit farmer

Four persons have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a Dalit, pulling out his moustache and forcing urine down his throat after he refused to harvest their crops, police said today.

Following the incident, SHO, Hazratpur, Rajesh Kashyap has been suspended, SSP Ashok Kumar said.

According to the compalinant, Sitaram Valmiki (43), the incident took place on April 24 when he was working in his field in Azampur Bisaulia village.

Vijay Singh, Pinku Singh, Vikram Singh and Sompal alias Kallu asked him to harvest their crops and when he refused they beat him up, pulled out his moustache and forced him to drink urine from a shoe, according to the complaint.

They also tied him to a tree, he said, adding that on Saturday he informed the police.

The SSP said that police reached the spot and took immediate action but later he started levelling allegations against the four accused, who were arrested last night.

"The matter is being probed as the statements of the victim and his family members are contradictory. Two separate calls were made to Dial 100 and we are looking into it," the SSP said.

The FIR of the incident was registered on April 29.