Dalit youth beaten up for 'obscene' dance moves

Tension prevailed at Gundewadi village in Athani taluk after a dalit youth was allegedly assaulted by persons belonging to an upper caste, objecting to his ‘obscene’ dance moves on stage, on Sunday night.

The victim, Sagar Kamble’s dance was part of a drama titled ‘Dharmavantaru’. What started with an exchange of verbal abuse, escalated and Kamble was beaten up, the police said. In the scuffle, three others also suffered injuries, the police added.

According to the police, the miscreants also set Kamble’s dhaba on fire and tore a picture of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Kamble then brought his community people to the spot.
As the news spread, an influential person incited the people to rebel, which led to stone throwing from both the sides, the police said.

Police personnel have been deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident.