Dehradun: His nails were pulled out with pliers, iron nails were driven into his feet, and severe wounds were dealt to his genitals, the father of a Dalit boy who was allegedly killed over an intercaste affair has claimed.
Irate villagers mobbed the Baurari District Hospital in Uttarakhand‘s New Tehri district on Tuesday, June 9, where the boy succumbed to the wounds.
The family of the 18-year-old refused to accept his body for the last rites until all his attackers were arrested.
The Uttarakhand government announced compensation of Rs 8.25 lakh for the victim’s family.
The police said Ketan belonged to a Scheduled Caste community and was in a relationship with an upper-caste minor. The two had been speaking over the telephone for the past six months.
On Sunday at around 11 pm, the girl called Ketan on his mobile phone and asked him to come to her village. Ketan went to Kholgarh with a friend, Diwakar Dimri.
Brutal physical torture
When they both arrived, members of the girl’s family locked them both in a room and assaulted them with sticks, the police said. Ketan succumbed during treatment.
Ketan was subjected to extreme physical torture, leaving deep bruises covering his back, chest, and limbs, his family claimed.
Ketan’s father, Dhanpal Lal, claimed that the attackers used pliers to pluck the teenager’s fingernails and toenails, drove nails into his feet and caused severe injuries to his genitals.
The police have arrested two primary suspects, the girl’s father, Yashveer Singh, and her grandfather, Vidya Singh.
On Tuesday, Ketan’s relatives and villagers demonstrated outside the hospital, accusing the police of failing to arrest the attackers.
Dhanpal Lal broke down while speaking to reporters.
“I will not take the body from here until all the culprits are arrested, even if it takes four days or ten days,” Dhanpal Lal said. “I am a poor man. I do not have the resources to run around courts for years. I want justice delivered right here. Only then will I take my son’s body.”
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He said a video of the assault is on social media and all those gathered at the hospital have seen it.
Standoff ends, final rites performed
A panel of doctors conducted the post-mortem examination under videography on Tuesday.
Following the autopsy, the family of the victim and local villagers refused to perform the final rites. They demanded strict punishment and the death penalty for the accused, police protection for the family, financial compensation of Rs 1 crore, and a government job for a family member.
The standoff ended on Wednesday, June 10, following a dialogue involving Additional Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar, Circle Officer Chandramohan Singh, Kotwal Aishwaryapal and local public representatives. The officials assured the family that their memorandum of demands had been forwarded to the state government. They also informed the family that two of the accused persons had been sent to judicial custody, while several others were taken into custody.
Uttarakhand Social Welfare Minister Khajan Das, Ghansali MLA Shakti Lal Shah, and State Scheduled Castes Commission Chairman Mukesh Kumar also spoke to Dhanpal Lal over the phone and assured him of government support.
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Following these assurances, the family took possession of the body from the hospital, and the cremation took place at Koti Colony.
Investigation continues
Senior Superintendent of Police Shweta Choubey assured that the investigation into the murder is being conducted in an impartial, transparent, and scientific manner.
She said that based on the evidence collected, technical facts, and interrogation, the involvement of the two named accused was established, and they have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
On Wednesday, a specialised forensic team conducted a detailed inspection of the crime scene in Kholgarh village to gather necessary scientific evidence to strengthen the case. The SSP assured that further legal action would proceed impartially based on the evidence that emerges during the investigation.
Several political leaders and social activists visited the Baurari District Hospital to offer their condolences to the victim’s family.
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