NEW DELHI // Three low-caste teenagers were stripped, beaten and forced to march naked in public after they were accused of stealing a motorcycle in western India, video footage showed on Tuesday.
Angry villagers reportedly tied the children, aged between 13 and 15, to a tree. They were also beaten and stripped naked in Rajasthan state’s Chittorgarh area after they were accused of stealing an upper-caste man’s motorcycle.
The footage on the NDTV news channel showed a group of men hitting the naked teenagers, from India’s lowest Dalit caste, as they appeared to crouch down to save themselves from the blows.
Police said they had registered cases against both the boys and their attackers after the assault, which occurred on Saturday.
“It isn’t an upper caste versus lower caste case. This is a case of theft and mob fury — both are wrong. We arrested six from the mob today,” Gaj Singh, a senior police officer of Chittorgarh, said.
Mr Singh said the villagers involved in the assault were also from the same Kanjar tribe as the victims.
Kanjars are a socially stigmatised nomadic community found across northern and Central India whose members often face such discrimination that they are forced to live outside villages and towns.
Manan Chaturvedi, the head of Rajasthan’s child rights commission, promised to investigate.
“We are forming a committee that will investigate this matter and then appropriate action will be taken after proper evidence is found,” she said.
“Not only the police, but those bystanders watching and taking videos should have been active. Had they stepped in, I don’t think any of this would have happened.”
Kailash Satyarthi, the Indian child rights activist and Nobel peace laureate, called on his Twitter followers to demand “immediate action” over what he called a “barbaric attack”.
Caste discrimination is officially illegal in India. But it still pervades many aspects of daily life, especially in the underdeveloped rural areas where more than half the population lives.
* Agence Fracne-Presse
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
