Dalit youth beaten up for 'sporting moustache, riding horse', four held

A 25-year-old youth from a scheduled caste was beaten up by a group of six upper-caste men reportedly for sporting a "moustache and owning and riding a horse" in a village in Botad district.

The police said that four of the accused will be arrested.

Botad police said that Sanjay Vaghela alias Chandrakant, a resident of Bagad village in Ranpur taluka, was attacked by six villagers on November 7 on his way back home from a nearby village.

In the FIR, Vaghela has mentioned that he was beaten up with iron pipes by the accused, leaving his both arms and a leg fractured. He is admitted to a Bhavnagar hospital for treatment.

Botad district superintendent of police Harshad Mehta told DH that the search is on to find two other accused.

Vaghela has alleged in the FIR that one of the main accused Pradip Ghaghal allegedly conspired with others to beat him to force him to leave the village due to an old dispute and his dislike for me to sport a moustache, own and ride a horse in the village, Pradip conspired with other accused and beat me and hurled casteist slur," the FIR mentions Vaghela as saying.

According to police, Vaghela and main accused Pradip, who belongs to the upper caste Kathi Darbar community, have filed at least six cases against one another in the last couple of years. Besides, Vaghela was facing a case of attempt to murder a State Reserver Police constable.

Due to several cases against him, Vaghela was externed from the district for a year. He returned after completing a year only last month, a senior police officer said.

Vaghela's cousin Manoj told DH over phone, "Doctors have operated on my brother's arms and right leg. He is recuperating in Bhavnagar hospital."