The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday sent a notice to the Gujarat government over the beating to death of a Dalit ragpicker in Rajkot district on May 20.
Taking suo motu cognisance of a media report, the NHRC issued a notice to the Chief Secretary asking for a detailed report on the incident as well as on the steps taken to provide relief for the affected.
A 40-year-old Dalit ragpicker was allegedly beaten to death in Shapar village over the issue of picking up scrap materials. The victim, his wife and an acquaintance were picking up rags near a factory when five unidentified people from the factory got into an argument and beat the three.
After the attack, the two women left, while the man was held. When the women returned with some people, they found the man on the ground. They took him to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. A case of murder has been registered.
The NHRC observed that the media report, if true, raised serious issues of violation of the human rights of the victims.