New Delhi: A 17-year-old Dalit boy died by suicide after suffering harassment during a birthday party in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti. The deceased has been identified as Aditya. The incident, reportedly from December 20, has sparked outrage over the violence and the subsequent police apathy.
According to the victim’s family, Aditya was invited to a birthday party in his village, where he endured inhumane ordeal. He was allegedly stripped naked, beaten, urinated upon, and humiliated by four people. The accused also recorded the incident on their phones. The accused also threatened to make the video public unless Aditya complied with their demands.
Family alleges police inaction
The boy returned home late that night and shared the incident with his family the next morning. Traumatised by the violence and humiliation, he died by suicide.
The victim’s family alleged that their they tried to file a complaint immediately after learning about the incident but could not. “We went to the police station to lodge a complaint, but they refused to register it,” said the boy’s uncle, Vijay Kumar, while talking to news agency ANI.
After Aditya’s death, the family carried his body to the Superintendent of Police (SP) office in Basti and staged a sit-in protest. It was only after hours of agitation that a case was registered. The victim’s mother accused the police of trying to protect the accused, alleging corruption and negligence.
Police conducting thorough investigation
Meanwhile, Basti’s deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Pradeep Kumar Tripathi confirmed that a case has been registered under relevant sections based on the family’s complaint. He said, “The victim’s body has been sent for postmortem, and we are conducting a thorough investigation. Strict action will be taken against the culprits.”
The police are also investigating whether the motive behind the assault was because of personal animosity or anything else.
This story was originally published in news9live.com.