Dalit youth beaten for displaying ‘Bapu’ label on motorbike

  • | Sunday | 12th March, 2017

"The darbar community members had often threatened me to either to remove the word 'Bapu' from my bike or I would face dire consequences. They kept asking why I had written 'Bapu' on my bike. AHMEDABAD: In the model state of Gujarat, a 22-year-old dalit youth was brutally beaten for inscribing 'Bapu', a traditional form of address for the upper caste darbar community , on his motorcycle.Saurabh Chauhan, 22, a nursing student at a Nadiad college, is a native of Nisraya village in Borsad taluka of Nadiad district. "We are not aware what actions will be taken by the police or the state agencies. "When my neighbours and I objected to this, they had started pelting my house with stones, by which my elder sister was injured.

AHMEDABAD: In the model state of Gujarat, a 22-year-old dalit youth was brutally beaten for inscribing 'Bapu', a traditional form of address for the upper caste darbar community , on his motorcycle.Saurabh Chauhan, 22, a nursing student at a Nadiad college, is a native of Nisraya village in Borsad taluka of Nadiad district. On March 5, a mob of members of the darbar or upper caste Kshatriya community attacked Saurabh and his parents, Chimanbhai and Manjulaben.According to an FIR registered with Borsad town police, the members of Darbar community had earlier taken objection to Saurabh displaying 'Bapu' above the headlight of his bike."The darbar community members had often threatened me to either to remove the word 'Bapu' from my bike or I would face dire consequences. Regarding this, I had filed an application before police on March 2. As I approached police, they agreed to a compromise on the issue. However, they returned three days later and started abusing me and my parents," reads the FIR."When my neighbours and I objected to this, they had started pelting my house with stones, by which my elder sister was injured. Some of them thrashed my father and tore my mother's clothes. I was also beaten mercilessly. They kept asking why I had written 'Bapu' on my bike. I tried to tell them that I had written it because I address my father as 'Bapu', but they did not listen to me," it reads.Police registered an FIR against 31 members of the Darbar community under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 143 (member of unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 354-B (assault or use of force criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) along with sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act.Saurabh told TOI that the members of the upper caste community kept threatening him. "We are not aware what actions will be taken by the police or the state agencies. You may have heard that dalits were not allowed to utter some so called auspicious words in the past, the situation has still not changed here."

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