Uttar Pradesh Police Arrest 7 Over Viral Video of Dalit Teen Being Assaulted, Forced to Lick Feet

In India, caste-based crimes are punishable under a law protecting the rights of Dalits -- the "untouchables" or the "oppressed class". Despite that, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against the Dalit community increased in 2019.

Seven people have been arrested in Raebareli District of India's Uttar Pradesh state in a caste-based violence case in which the accused allegedly forced a Dalit teenager to lick the feet of an upper caste man.

In a video that went viral on social media on Monday, the boy victim can be seen doing sit-ups and then licking the feet of the accused, who is sitting on a motorbike.

रायबरेली के जगतपुर में दलित छात्र की मारपीट के बाद पैर चटवाने की घटना दूषित मानसिकता को सिद्ध करती है। बाबा साहब के संविधान को लागू हुए 72 वर्ष हो चुके हैं, परंतु अभी भी जातिगत उत्पीड़न व हिंसा जारी है क्या माननीय yogi जी और modi जी इस मुद्दे पर कभी कुछ बोलेगे ? #JaiBhim #Dalit pic.twitter.com/zFC00lTnQT

— Bahujan4India (@Bahujan4India) April 17, 2022

The video shows others accompanying the accused, who kept laughing. One of them is heard, in the background, asking the victim, "Will you make such a mistake again?"

According to local media reports, the victim, 15, lives with his widowed mother in the same village. She worked in the fields belonging to some of the accused, and her son -- the victim -- had been asking them for money for the said work.

When the upper caste men refused to pay back the dues, however, the aggrieved victim approached the police; afterwards he was assaulted.

The incident reportedly took place on 10 April, and the complaint was submitted by victim on this Monday, 18 April. Subsequently, police arrested the seven accused on Tuesday.