Madhubani: The Rahika police on Saturday arrested 11 people for brutally beating up a Dalit on suspicion of theft on August 16. The victim, identified as Ram Prakash Paswan, is currently receiving treatment at the DMCH hospital in the area and is in critical condition. He is a resident of Rajoura village in the Darbhanga district and was allegedly thrashed by a group of people belonging to another community.
As informed by the victim's family, Ram Prakash was returning from his relative's house at night on August 16 when a mob of people tied his hands and feet and beat him continuously throughout the night with sticks. They also allegedly forced him to drink urine. When the villagers tried to stop them, they demanded a sum of Rs 20 lakhs. "My father was badly injured and so the people somehow managed to get Rs 50,000 and gave it to those men to rescue my father," said Ram Prakash's daughter Pooja. She has further alleged that the members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) are behind the crime.
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The victim was then immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment while a complaint was lodged with the Rahika Police Station. Meanwhile, a video of the incident went viral on social media, putting the matter into the limelight. Some Bajrang Dal workers reached the village to take a stock of the situation, thereby attracting the media attention. After the case kicked up a row, police personnel in the area expedited the probe and were finally able to arrest the accused on Saturday.
The police had initially registered an FIR against four people named by the victim's family, while some other unknown people were also considered accused, informed Sushil Kumar, SP Madhubani. Ashwani Kumar, SDM Madhubani, who reached the victim's house to meet his family, also said that the aggrieved family is being provided all the help and assistance while further investigation into the matter is underway. He further said that a complaint has been lodged under the SC/ST Act and other IPC sections against the accused. SDPO Rajiv Kumar also reassured that the victim and his family will get justice while clarifying that the police have taken prompt action against the accused.
