New Delhi (Sputnik) – A video of an elderly man forced to spit and lick his own saliva from the ground has surfaced on social media, reasserting the age-old wounds caused by caste-based discrimination in India.The video went viral with enraged comments on post threads.
Nalanda: Man made to spit & lick as punishment for entering Sarpanch's house without knocking,was also beaten by slippers by women #Bihar pic.twitter.com/WTM31aLMVq
— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2017
The irony is that the video is said to have been shot on Wednesday in Nalanda — the home district of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Apart from licking the spit, the elderly person is also seen being thrashed by women in the video.
"On the act of Thakur, a panchayat was called by Dharmendra Yadav where the victim was beaten with slippers by several women," Nalanda district magistrate (DM) Thiyagarajan said.
Thiyagarajan was also quoted in the media as saying that the administration is seeking more information on the incident and a report is likely to be received within two days.
Caste violence is rampant in India despite legislation designed to ensure equal rights among all citizens. According to the National Crime Records Bureau of India, 47,064 crimes against the Dalit (lowest caste) community were registered in 2014, up from 39,408 in 2013 and 33,655 in 2012.
