Two young men from the lower rungs of the country's caste system - one a Dalit from the Jatav community and the other from the Other Backward Class Kewat community - were subjected to brutal torture in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, over claims of sexual assault, the police have said.
The incident took place on June 30 in Warkhadi in the Narwar area of Shivpuri. The two young men were violently beaten, their faces blackened, forced to ingest faeces, and then humiliatingly paraded through the town.
The distressing episode was reported to the police by the Dalit victim's brother. Shivpuri district police have since charged seven members of a local minority family with the assault and have already caught six suspects, including two women.
Upon investigation, local police sources confirmed that the allegations of sexual assault were baseless. They asserted that the incident was tied to a property-related dispute and was falsely presented by the attackers.
Narottam Mishra, the Home Minister, condemned the torment inflicted on the two men as a "Talibani act which shamed humanity."
"Such acts won't be tolerated. Most of the accused have been arrested. The local administration in Shivpuri has been instructed to invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against the accused and demolish their illegally built properties," said Mr Mishra.
The Home Minister also accused the opposition Congress party of attempting to suppress the matter, stating, "Even more shameful is the fact that local Congress leaders tried to pressurize the administration to suppress the matter by making phone calls to authorities."
The incident comes days after a man was arrested in Madhya Pradesh for urinating on a tribal community member and having the incident filmed, triggering a huge outcry.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday washed the feet of the tribal man, expressing sorrow over the incident and apologising to him.
The Chief Minister also assured that those committing such acts and indulging in wrongdoing against the poor would be severely punished.
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