An atrocity case has been booked against the priest of Rudreshwara temple in Nelamangala who had allegedly assaulted a seven-year-old Dalit boy in the temple on Monday.
The priest, Vijay Kumar, allegedly banged the head of Santosh against the wall when he went into the temple to collect ‘prasada’ which was being distributed. The priest, however, claimed the boy was caught stealing in the temple and had slipped and injured himself when they tried to chase him, according to the Nelamangala police.
Initially, the boy’s parents and the temple administration had a meeting and decided not to file a complaint. The parents, however, filed a complaint later since the boy was admitted to the Nelamangala government hospital and the doctors registered it as medico-legal case.
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According to a senior police official, the boy’s father, a cobbler residing in Jayanagar (a Dalit colony) in Nelamangala, in his complaint said that though the priest had beaten up Santosh, he did not know about his caste background.
The police, however, have registered an atrocity case against Vijay Kumar along with the charge of assault. The police are on the lookout for Vijay Kumar.