Dalit man found riding bike with girl, assaulted in Davanagere
www.mangaloretoday.com
Bengaluru, Dec 12, 2023: A Dalit man was allegedly assaulted by a group of men from another community in Davanagere after he was found riding a motorcycle with a 17-year-old girl, police said on Sunday.
Upon seeing the girl with the 26-year-old man, 18-20 men from another community chased and waylaid him, questioning why he was taking the girl on the bike. The group then took the man to Shadi Mahal and assaulted him on Friday night, alleging that he was having an affair with the girl. In the morning, the group took him in a car and threw him in a secluded place in an unconscious state, police said.
After regaining consciousness, the man, identified as Srinivas, called his mother using a passerby’s phone, . He has been admitted to Davanagere district government hospital and is undergoing treatment, police said.
“Following the complaint by Srinivas, a native of Jolly Nagara in Davanagere, we have registered a case under IPC section 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily hurt), 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC, and Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” Basavanapura police station inspector Guru Basavaiah said.
He added, “We have detained one accused and identified other accused as the investigation is ongoing.”
Meanwhile, the girl’s mother filed a Pocso case against Srinivas at the women’s police station. “The girl’s mother filed a complaint with us at night; we have registered a case under IPC section 376(2) (rape by one or more persons) and Pocso Act,” Women Police Station inspector Noor Ahmed told HT.
However, leaders of a Hindu organization gathered at the district hospital, and asserted that Srinivas did nothing wrong. They condemned the assault on the youth.
They said Srinivas is already engaged, and said the Pocso case is a conspiracy. They demanded that the attackers be arrested.
“Medical reports of both Srinivas and the girl are awaited for further investigation,” Basavaiah said .