Dalit teen abducted, forced to prostrate before caste Hindus in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai
Madurai: A 17-year-old Dalit boy from Sankampatti village in Usilampatti, Madurai, was allegedly abducted and humiliated by a group of caste Hindus who forced him to prostrate before them. The incident occurred on January 16, but police registered a case only on January 18, sparking outrage from rights groups.
According to the teenager’s complaint, members of the dominant caste abducted him when he returned home for the Pongal holidays. He alleged that the group hurled casteist slurs, beat him, and forced him to prostrate before each member present, including a six-year-old child.
The boy’s relative, advocate Deviammal, further alleged that the attackers urinated on him before releasing him after learning that police had been alerted.
The Usilampatti police have registered an FIR against six individuals, invoking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Sections 296(b) and 351(2), along with Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
However, the police denied the allegation that the accused urinated on the boy. “The case has been registered based on the teenager’s complaint. The claim about urination is not true. Further investigation is underway,” officials stated.
The Neelam Cultural Centre condemned the delay in filing the FIR, accusing the police of shielding the accused. “The police registered the FIR only on January 18 even though the complaint was lodged on January 16. This shows their bias,” the group posted on X.
The boy, who is undergoing treatment at the Usilampatti Government Hospital, remains traumatised. Relatives also accused the police of trying to weaken the case by misrepresenting his age as 19 instead of 17.
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Meghalaya: Interstate ATM theft racket busted, 6 arrested
Shillong (PTI): An interstate racket involved in ATM thefts across several states has been busted, with the arrest of six persons in connection with a break-in at an electronic banking outlet in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused were allegedly involved in breaking into an ATM of the Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank on April 5, 2024, they said.
Three of the accused were arrested from Barpeta in Assam, while the remaining were apprehended from Haryana, police said.
Ri-Bhoi SP Giri Prasad M said a special police team was constituted to investigate the case.
"With coordinated efforts and assistance from Assam and Haryana Police, we were able to apprehend the accused involved in the ATM break-in," he told PTI.
The case was registered at Umiam police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to police, the gang used gas cutters to break open the ATM safe and fled with the cash within minutes.
"The group is part of a larger network involved in similar ATM thefts across different states. Further investigation is underway to dismantle the entire network," the SP added.
