In a village in Telangana, a case has been filed against an 80-year-old man for tying and beating up a Dalit teenager who plucked a fruit from his garden. Videos and images of the boy being tied and assaulted have gone viral on social media.
Story: Nitya Kaimal
A 14-year-old Dalit boy was making his way home on the 22nd of June, when he stopped at a neighbour’s house, jumped the compound wall, and plucked a juicy pomegranate from a tree in the garden. The owner of the house, a retired headmaster of a school, caught him red-handed and proceeded to tie him up and beat him with a stick.
This incident took place in the Kesaram village in Shabad, Telangana. Madhusudan Reddy is an 80-year-old ex-headmaster, and also the accused. Videos and pictures of him physically abusing the teenager have been making its rounds across the internet.
Also read: Local panchayat demands a bribe, Dalit family’s hut destroyed after refusal to pay.
Amruta, the boy’s mother, claimed that Madhusudan Reddy and his son abused her when she reached the location. Shabad Inspector Kantha Reddy stated that following the mother’s complaint to the Shabad police, a case was filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 342 (wrongful confinement) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), as well as pertinent sections of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Under this act, anyone who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and acts with the intent to harm or acts in a way that is derogatory to human dignity, towards a member of an SC/ST community, is liable to be imprisoned for a period between 6 months and 5 years depending on the crime. The boy is safe and Reddy is under investigation by the police.
What is truly shocking is that not only is Reddy a neighbour of the boy, who lives only 100 metres away from the old man, but he is also a retired government school headmaster. One would expect such a man to be more gentle and understanding with children and adolescents, especially over something as seemingly harmless as plucking a single fruit. This lack of empathy and understanding, as well as the impertinent treatment of the boy’s mother, is what raises questions about Casteism. It is disheartening to see even educators, who are responsible for educating a generation to be better than the previous, behave in such a derogatory manner.
*दलित टाइम्स उन करोड़ो लोगो की आवाज़ है जिन्हें हाशिए पर रखा गया है। *
महिला, दलित और आदिवासियों के मुद्दों पर केंद्रित पत्रकारिता करने और मुख्यधारा की मीडिया में इनका प्रतिनिधित्व करने के लिए हमें आर्थिक सहयोग करें।
