Two Dalit men beaten up, tonsured, forced to eat grass over cattle transport in Odisha

Berhampur (Odisha): Two Dalit men in Odisha’s Ganjam district were tonsured, assaulted and forced to crawl on their knees and consume grass and drain water on suspicion of cattle smuggling, police said.

The incident, which occurred at Jahada in Kharigumma village under Dharakote police station limits on Sunday, has triggered widespread outrage in political circles after purported videos of the assault went viral on social media.

PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.

The victims — Babula Nayak (54) and Bulu Nayak (42) of Singipur — were transporting two cows and a calf in an auto from Hariour to their village when they were caught by a group of self-proclaimed 'cow protectors' at Kharigumma, accusing the two of smuggling cattle, police said.

"The mob allegedly demanded Rs 30,000 from the duo. When the victims refused, they were assaulted and subjected to degrading treatment," a police officer said.

"They were taken to a salon and their heads were tonsured partly. They were then forced to crawl on their knees for over a kilometre, fed grass and made to drink drain water," the officer added.

After managing to flee from the clutches of the mob, the victims lodged an FIR against the accused at Dharakote police station on Sunday evening.

According to the victims, the cattle were meant as a traditional gift for the wedding of Babula’s daughter.

The police on Monday detained six people for allegedly assaulting and partially tonsuring the heads of the two Dalit men.

Ganjam SP Suvendu Kumar Patra said a case was registered, and police detained at least six persons in this case.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the attackers' motive was not animal protection but extortion, police said.