Dalit man assaulted, made to lick shoes in UP’s Sonbhadra district; NCSC asks Uttar Pradesh government to submit ATR

Punjab E News: Taking strong notice of the incident wherein a contractual electrician/lineman assaulted a Dalit man and made him lick his shoes in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), on the orders of its Chairman Vijay Sampla, issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh government and asked them to submit an action taken report within a week.

As per the information received by NCSC from viral social media post, the accused, identified as Tejbali Singh Patel, had assaulted the Dalit man as he was angry with him for checking the faulty electrical wiring. In the viral video, the Dalit man can be seen licking the shoes of the lineman and doing sit-ups while holding his ears and apologising.

Meanwhile, the Commission asked the chief secretary (Uttar Pradesh government); the director general of police (Uttar Pradesh government); the district magistrate (Sonbhadra district); and the superintendent of police (Sonbhadra district) to investigate the matter and to submit the action taken report, till July 17, 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.