Moral policing: Dalit boy, woman thrashed for sitting together in Belagavi

Mangalore Today News Network

Belagavi, Jan 7, 2024: A moral policing case has been registered in Belagavi after a group of Muslim men allegedly attacked a Dalit boy and a  girl for reportedly sitting together. Nine persons involved in the assault have been taken into custody, said police.

The victims, Sachin Lamani, 18, and Muskan Patel, 22, both were subjected to a prolonged assault by the accused who used pipes and rods.

The issue came to light when both the victims, after getting thrashed, filed a complaint with the police. Based on the complaint, the Belagavi Police registered a case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act.

Recounting the horror, Sachin said, "They asked why a Hindu and a Muslim were sitting together. I told them she wasn’t a Muslim but my own aunt’s daughter. They took both of our phones. They snatched away Rs 7,000."

Sachin revealed that the issue occurred when Muskan and he went to apply for the Siddaramaiah’s Yuva Nidhi scheme. "When we went to apply for the scheme, they asked us to come after an hour as it was lunchtime. So, we went to sit by Killa Lake. The miscreants were drunk when they came to us. They took a rod and thrashed us," Sachin told India Today TV.

The incident unfolded near Killa Lake in Belagavi on Saturday noon. The group of miscreants approached Sachin and Muskan, enquiring about their names, according to the complaint.

After learning that they belonged to different religions, the attackers began questioning Sachin about sitting next to Muskan.

The verbal abuse escalated to physical violence, with the assailants attempting to strangle Sachin by his neck. They forcibly took the mobile phones of both victims, said Sachin and Muskan, in a police complaint.

Subsequently, 13 more people joined the attackers, taking Sachin and Muskan to a separate room where they subjected Sachin to brutal thrashing till Saturday evening, according to the complaint.

Muskan was also attacked during the incident, said the police sources.