A 42-year-old Dalit woman was beaten, stripped and paraded naked by five persons belonging to an upper caste at Mulgaon village in Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's hometown of Karad.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon. Five persons have been arrested so far.
An upper caste girl had eloped with the victim's son over a month ago. Upset at this, the girl's parents and relatives assaulted the woman publicly in the village in Karad taluka of Satara district, police said.
The victim said the police refused to entertain her complaint when she approached them on Monday. “They told me that such incidents keep happening in our community, and that they cannot do anything about it,” she told a television news channel.
Narrating the incident, she said: “The women pushed me to the ground, took off my sari and started beating me up with chappals and a stick. They pulled my hair. This continued for almost two hours.”
With the help of Dalit activists, she was admitted to a hospital at Karad on Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday, five persons of the family which assaulted the Dalit woman, including the girl's parents, were arrested. Patan Deputy Superintendent of Police F.M. Naikwadi told The Hindu that the accused were booked under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Speaking to reporters at Chandrapur, Home Minister R.R. Patil called for a strict investigation. “All the offenders will be brought to book.”
