▲ Scene of the incident in Punjab
A controversy has erupted in India after two young men from the Dalit community, the lowest tier of the caste system, were captured by villagers, beaten, stripped, and forced to march as punishment for suspected theft.
According to Indian media outlet NDTV on June 9, the two men were subjected to public humiliation recently in a village in the Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab, northern India.
Reports indicate that the men were apprehended by villagers who had heard rumors that they had stolen a migrant worker's mobile phone. They were tied together, severely beaten, and forced to walk through the village while stripped of their clothes.
The incident came to light after a video of the event spread on social media, sparking public outrage and criticism regarding mob justice among netizens.
The families of the victims confirmed that the men belong to the Dalit community and stated that they were subjected to caste-based slurs while being humiliated.
They further demanded the punishment of those involved in the assault, arguing that the mob justice incident was a grave violation of human dignity and the law.
However, the villagers maintained that the two men were involved in the mobile phone theft, failing to address the concerns regarding human dignity and illegality raised by the victims' families.
The police have arrested the two men suspected of theft and stated that they may also take legal action against the villagers who carried out the assault.
A police official stated that the villagers should have reported the matter to the police instead of taking the law into their own hands to punish the young men.
The Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission, a state government body that investigates human rights violations and social discrimination against Dalits, has also launched an inquiry into the incident.
"Scheduled Castes" is the official term used in the Indian Constitution to refer to the lowest caste, or "Dalit," in the Indian caste system.
In the past, Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian nation, called them "Harijan" (meaning children of God), but it is known that today, the community prefers the term "Dalit," which carries an independent identity meaning "the oppressed."
As of the 2011 census, the Scheduled Caste population was approximately 201 million, accounting for 16 percent of the total population.
(Photo: NDTV capture, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.