Chandigarh, May 20
Taking strong notice of the incident in which a 12-year-old Dalit teenager was stripped naked and brutally thrashed in Malout under Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab, the National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) Commission, on the orders of its Chairman Vijay Sampla, issued a notice to the Punjab Government officials on Friday and asked them to submit an action taken report till May 26.
As per the information received by the NCSC via viral videos and news on May 19, 2022, a dalit woman from Harjinder Nagar in Malout town of Sri Muktsar Sahib district alleged that a non-dalit man thrashed her son and later uploaded the video on social media.
“My husband left me and our son seven years ago. After that, I came into a relationship with Arshdeep Singh, a resident of Sarawan Bodla village. Soon, he got married to someone but he used to visit my house. When I tried to end the relationship, he started harassing me and my son. One day, he visited my house, stripped naked my 12-year-old son and thrashed him brutally. He also shot the video of the incident which he later uploaded on the internet and made it viral”, the dalit woman said in a complaint.
She further said that the police officials of city Malout police station didn’t help her, even when the accused threatened her of dire consequences inside the police station.
Meanwhile, the Commission asked the Divisional Commissioner (Ferozepur division), Deputy commissioner (district Sri Muktsar Sahib), Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (district Sri Muktsar Sahib), to investigate the matter and to submit the report within seven days, through post or email, based on the facts and information on the action taken on the allegation/matter.
Sampla cautioned the officers that if action taken report is not received within the stipulated time, then Commission might exercise the powers of the civil court conferred on it under article 338 of the Constitution of India and issue a summon for personal appearance before the commission in Delhi.
