The Uttar Pradesh government has drawn fire over the incident after the video went viral
A shocking viral video of a man mercilessly thrashing a Dalit minor girl in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi has triggered outrage, prompting the police to register a case and make an arrest.
The video shows two men holding the teenaged girl to the floor while a third rains blows on the soles of her feet with a stick. The girl was reportedly accused of theft; three women seen in the video are heard questioning her. She cries out in pain, but the blows don't stop. At one point, the man hitting the girl drags her on the floor, grabs her by the hair and shakes her in a brutal show of violence.
In a statement shared on Twitter by the official handle of Amethi Police, Circle Officer Arpit Kapoor has said they have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and arrested one Naman Soni so far. He added that the other accused in the case will be arrested soon.
The Uttar Pradesh government and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, who represents Amethi in Lok Sabha, have drawn fire over the incident, which comes in the middle of a high-pitch election campaign.
(Disturbing and graphic visuals. Viewer discretion is advised)
Condemning the incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has trained guns at the Yogi Adityanath government, alleging that its police administration is sleeping even though 34 incidents of casteist crimes and 135 crimes against women are reported in the state daily.
The Congress general secretary has given an ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government, warning of an agitation if the accused in the matter are not arrested within 24 hours.