A 16-year-old Dalit student in Jharkhand was hospitalized after allegedly being subjected to a brutal assault and threats of sexual assault inside a government residential school hostel. The incident occurred on July 14, when a group of students allegedly barged into the youth’s room while he was asleep, gagged him, and dragged him to another room where he was stripped and assaulted for nearly four hours. The student recounted his ordeal, stating that three people hit him with belts while others filmed the incident.
He also alleged that the accused rubbed salt on his wounds and hit him again, while threatening to sexually assault him. A purported clip of the incident shows the student pleading with the accused while being made to strip and do push-ups and sit-ups. The youth further alleged that the accused used casteist slurs during the ordeal and threatened him into silence.
They also took away his phone, forcing him to remain silent for two days until he could no longer bear the pain and called his father using someone else’s phone. The incident has sparked protests against the school and hostel authorities, with the youth’s family demanding the arrest of the accused, invocation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and action against the school. The local police station in charge, M D Iffar Ahmed, confirmed that an FIR had been registered and the investigation is underway.
The administration has ordered the suspension of the accused from the school, while the youth is undergoing treatment at a government hospital. The youth’s family has been protesting, demanding the arrest of the accused, invocation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and action against the school. The youth’s father alleged that his son has been subjected to casteist slurs earlier, too.
