Reacting strongly to the brutal beating of a Dalit widow in Satara, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's president Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday demanded justice for the victim and her family. A video of men mercilessly thrashing the woman in broad daylight went viral on social media triggering outrage.
The incident happened on August 26at Panvan village in Satara's Man taluka in Satara on August 26, according to police. The disturbing video showed four men hitting the woman, who is lying on the road, after she asked one of them to return Rs 2,000 that she lent him for cattle fodder. One of the men is also seen kicking the woman with not a single onlooker coming to mediate.
Prakash Ambedkar reacts strongly
According to a police officer, the main accused has been identified as Devdas Narale who the victim had lent Rs 2,000. The woman repeatedly asked Narale, who is from an upper caste, to return the money after which the accused beat her.
Ambedkar on Thursday took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemning the incident and demanding justice for the victim.
"It does not stop, does it? A helpless Dalit widow was brutally beaten by a group of men in Satara, Maharashtra. Her crime? She demanded her own money back which she paid for undelivered goods — fodder. The video of the physical abuse is so disturbing that I am struggling to find words in my vocabulary to illustrate this caste atrocity in words. Absolutely cruel and inhuman," Ambedkar tweeted.
According to police, the victim's son filed a case against the accused. Following this, the four accused have been arrested. The police arrested Narale and Pintu alias Shantaram Narale on Sunday, the official said, adding the other two accused - Santosh Shinde and Janappa Shinde - were nabbed on Monday evening.
The Mhaswad police registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention), and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.
The police launched an investigation in the case.
(With inputs from agencies)
