Kin of Dalit men thrashed in Nagaur meets Rajasthan CM, expresses satisfaction over police action

Family members of the two Dalit men who were thrashed in Nagaur district met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday and expressed satisfaction over police action in the matter, a day after his deputy Sachin Pilot criticised the government over crime against Dalits in the state.

A delegation led by Sangharsh Samiti convener Gautam Nayak met the chief minister at his official residence here and said they were satisfied with the police action in the case.

According to sources, the family members of the victims were also present in the meeting and police took prompt action in the matter. Former Nagaur MP Jyoti Mirdha was also present at the meeting.

According to the police, the incident took place on February 16 at a motorcycle service agency in Karanu village falling under Panchodi police station area. The staffers of the agency attacked the Dalits after accusing them of committing theft.

The brutal incident came to light after a video of the assault went viral. In the video, a group of men was seen thrashing two persons with rubber belts. They later tortured one of the victims by pouring petrol on his private parts with a piece of cloth wrapped on a screwdriver.

Eight people have so far been arrested in the case. The state government has already announced a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh each and arrangements for getting them jobs at local level will also be made, a source said.

Besides, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Panchodi police station has been shunted to police lines after the matter was raised in the Assembly.

Pilot, who is a also the state Congress chief had formed a committee comprising a minister, an MLA and a party office bearer which submitted a report to him recently. Pilot submitted the report to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

On Saturday, he sounded critical of his own party's government over the recent crimes against Dalits and the failure of the state home ministry, a portfolio held by Chief Minister Gehlot, in controlling them.

"The way the spurt in crimes against Dalits have been reported, it was our duty to control these crimes and instill confidence in Dalits that it would not happen again," Pilot had said in Jodhpur.