SC youth tied to tree, brutally tortured over inter-caste love affair in Uttar Pradesh

(Warning: Story contains some graphic details, reader discretion advised)

A youth belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community was brutally tortured after being tied to a tree in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat district, about 150 kilometres from here, over an inter-caste love affair.

According to reports, the youth, identified as Sarvan Kumar, a resident of Patari village in the district, had been having an affair with a girl of another caste, a resident of Akbarpur police station area for the past few months.

The father of the girl, who did not approve of their affair, had the girl call him (Sarvan) and ask him to meet her at her home on Thursday night.

An unsuspecting Sarvan, upon reaching the home of his lover, was overpowered by the father of the girl and some others and tied to a tree. He was thrashed with sticks and belts. A stick was inserted in his anus also after he revealed that he hailed from the SC community.

A video, which went viral on social media sites, showed a man thrashing the youth with a stick. It also showed the youth being kicked and slapped. One could also hear the culprits asking him to reveal his caste. He was hit repeatedly after the revelation. The video also showed an elderly man inserting a stick several times in the youth's anus.

Police said that a case was lodged against four people. ''We have arrested one of the accused. A hunt has been launched to nab the others. The accused have fled their homes,'' a senior police official in the district said on Saturday.

The incident triggered a sharp reaction from the opposition parties, who accused the Yogi Adityanath government of failing to ensure the safety of the Dalits in the state. ''Dalits are facing persecution under the BJP regime. It shows the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP,'' said a senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader here.