Tamil Nadu: Man Who Assaulted Dalit Boy, Forced Him To Eat Excreta For Defecating On His Land, Arrested

A 50-year-old man, identified as Rajasekhar, who allegedly abused a 14-year-old Dalit boy with casteist slurs before forcing him to eat and carry his own excreta to his house was arrested by the Dharmapuri police in Tamil Nadu on July 22.

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sent to the district jail.

On July 18, Rajasekar, a Brahmin land owner allegedly found the young boy defecating on his land. According to the FIR filed in the case, Rajasekhar assaulted the teenager and forced him to eat his own excreta.

He then made him carry the excreta back to his house. The young boy then went back home and informed his father about the incident.

Those who witnessed the assault on the young boy tried to stop it but Rajasekhar did not stop.

"We have a toilet constructed by the union government but we do not have water, so we defecate in the open. On that day, my child was defecating on the land owned by Rajasekhar, when he passed by. On seeing the child, he immediately got down from the vehicle and started hitting my son with a cane for defecating in the open," the boy's father told The News Minute.

"Rajasekhar told my son to eat the faeces since he had defecated on his land. He also uttered a casteist slur to my boy and told him to pick up the excreta with his hands," he added.

The father said that the boy was so traumatised by the incident that he couldn't eat.

"He (Rajasekhar) was absconding after the family filed a complaint with the Pennagaram police station," an investigating official said, adding, "But we found him and had him remanded by Tuesday night. The Deputy Superintendent of police led the investigation."

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Man Forces Dalit Boy To Eat Faeces For Defecating In His Land