A Dalit couple was allegedly beaten up in K.P. Hall village of Gummagatta mandal of Anantapur district sometime last week.
The incident came to light on Friday after a video of the incident was posted by someone on the social media.
District Superintendent of Police B. Satya Yesu Babu told The Hindu that the police had not received any complaint from the parents of either the girl or the boy, but based on the video evidence they had filed a case suo motu against the village elder, Boya Lingappa, who was reportedly seen mercilessly beating the girl and the boy with fists and a cane in front of a large crowd.
The boy, Sai Kiran, 20, and the girl, a minor, were closely related. Both of them fled the village sometime ago, and their parents traced and brought them home, but the girl allegedly tried to elope again with the boy, and that is when the girl’s parents reportedly asked the village elder to discipline them.
POCSO Act
The police registered a case of physical violence against children under Section 324, but during investigation, if atrocity against SC/ST person also gets established, and since the girl is minor, Sai Kiran could be booked under POCSO Act after producing the girl before Child Welfare Committee and ICDS officials, police added.
