A group of upper caste men allegedly tonsured the head of a religious preacher and his aide after finding that they hailed from the Yadav caste in Dandarpur village of Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district, police said.
The incident of tonsuring took place on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, and the accused were arrested on Monday. The victims were 'katha vachak' (narrator of holy texts) and had gone to the village for a 'Bhagwad Katha'.
After the video of the tonsuring went viral on social media, police swung into action and arrested four persons, including the main accused.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Etawah, Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said, "A video pertaining to Bakewar police station went viral on social media on Monday, in which it could be seen that after the Bhagwat Katha, villagers were misbehaving with two people, and cutting their hair despite their unwillingness".
Taking cognisance of the video, a police force reached the spot and identified the person, whose hair was cut. Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, a case was registered at Bakewar police station in Etawah district, the SSP said, and added that four persons, including the main accused, have been arrested.
The four accused have been identified as Ashish Tiwari, Uttam Kumar Awasthi, Nikki Awasthi, and Manu Dubey, all residents of Dandarpur.
Speaking to reporters, the assistant 'katha vaachak' identified as Sant Singh Yadav said, "Earlier, I used to run a private school, but the government got the school closed. So I engaged myself in performing Bhagwat Katha, and I became an assistant to 'katha vaachak' Mukut Mani Yadav." Elaborating about the incident, he said, "We were called to perform a Bhagwat Katha in Dandarpur village beginning June 21 (Saturday). We were questioned about our caste. It was said that we are 'chamar' (scheduled castes), but I said I am not a 'chamar', I am Yadav".
"They also asked me to show my ID. They then said that being a Yadav, you have come to a village of Brahmins to perform the Bhagwat Katha. I was tortured throughout the night, and my hair was completely shaved," he alleged.
"Urine was sprinkled over me, and I was told that now I have become pure. They also said how dare you come to a village of Brahmins?" he said.
In the video, which was also shared on X by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the accused were purportedly heard saying, "You are getting punished for coming to the village of Brahmins".
SP chief Yadav said, "During a Bhagwat Katha in Dandarpur village of Bakewar area of Etawah, when the 'katha vaachak' and his assistants were asked about their caste, they said they belonged to the PDA caste. Some dominant people behaved indecently with them, got their hair cut, their noses rubbed, and the area purified." "Our Constitution does not allow caste discrimination," he said, adding that all accused should be arrested immediately and a case should be registered under appropriate sections.
"If strict action is not taken in the next three days, we will call for a big movement to 'protect the honour of PDA'. Nothing is bigger than the value of PDA!" Yadav said on X.
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