Submit report on assault of 2 Dalits by BJP leader in 4 weeks: NHRC to Telangana govt

The National Human Rights Commission on Tuesday asked the Telangana government to submit a report within four weeks in the Abhangapatnam caste atrocity case in which two Dalits were assaulted by an upper-caste BJP leader.

The complaint was made by Sujatha Surepally, a Dalit activist and convener of Bahujan Prathighatana Vedika.

In the incident which took place in November at Abhangapatnam village of Navipet mandal in Nizamabad, the victims- Bachula Rajeshwar and Kondra Lakshman - were assaulted by BJP leader Bharat Reddy when the duo attempted to stop illegal sand mining.

Reddy threatened Rajeshwar and Lakshman with a stick and made them rub their nose in the mud and coerced them to take a dip in the water. He humiliated them with casteist slurs. This entire act was caught on camera, which later went viral on social media provoking outrage from several quarters.  

On November 14, the BJP expelled Bharat Reddy from the party.

After the police registered an FIR, Reddy abducted the victims and went into hiding. He later released the victims and threatened them to say that the viral video was a clip from a short film, which the victims parroted to police in Hyderabad.

However, Rajeshwar and Lakshman changed their version alleging that Reddy had threatened them with consequences.

A month later, on December 12, the police arrested Reddy.

Rajeshwar and Lakshman are, however, struggling to find work in the village following the incident. Villagers are allegedly refusing to hire the two, fearing repercussion from the Reddy community.  

Speaking with TNM, activist Sujatha Surepally said that the victims should be given three acres of land each along with a job including monetary compensation by the state government, so that the victims need not rely on others and live with dignity.

“The woes of Dalit victims don’t just end after an arrest or some intervention, the village virtually boycotts them. So it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the victim don’t rely on anybody and provide them land and a job.”