In a shocking incident of caste-based atrocity, a Dalit man was allegedly attacked and mercilessly beaten up for using a government-installed handpump in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district.

According to The New Indian Express, the 45-year-old man was tortured by people who objected to his using the government-installed handpump to fetch water.

An FIR was lodged at the Bisanda police station stated that Ramachandra Raidas alleged that family members of Ram Dayal Yadav attacked him with sticks when he went to draw water from the handpump in district’s Tendura village. The details of the FIR were revealed by the Station House Officer (SHO) Narendra Pratap Singh. Reports also pointed out that Raidas sustained injuries and was admitted to a primary health centre for treatment. The police officer added that an investigation was underway on the case.

He further highlighted that Raidas also alleged that two months ago, the accused had banned them from taking water from the hand pump installed in the locality of the Yadavs, but the matter was resolved following an intervention by the sub-divisional magistrate of Atarra.

Caste-based violence is on a rise in India. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data showed an increase of 7.3 per cent in crimes against scheduled caste people with 45,935 cases; an increase from 42,793 cases registered in 2018. Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for over 25 per cent of the total cases by recording the highest number of atrocities against SC people in the country.

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