(Trigger Warning: Descriptions of sexual assault. Reader discretion advised.)
A group of six men allegedly assaulted a Dalit woman and stripped her naked over a loan dispute in Bihar.
Details: The incident reportedly occurred at Mosimpur village in the state's Patna district on Saturday, 23 September.
The victim has suffered serious injuries and is receiving medical treatment at a hospital, the police said.
The assault: In a police complaint accessed by The Quint, the victim alleged that village strongman Pramod Singh, his son Anshu, and four other men abducted her when she had gone outside the house to get water from a handpump on Saturday night.
They allegedly took her to their home, stripped her naked, and beat her with sticks.
"Pramod Singh also made his son urinate in my mouth. Somehow, after saving my life, I ran towards my home naked. On the way, one of my relatives immediately took me home. After this my family members informed the local police station," the victim said.
Know more: According to the police, the victim's husband had borrowed a loan of Rs 1,500 from Singh.
After the loan was repaid, Singh allegedly demanded an additional interest amount which the couple had refused to pay.
So far, a case has been registered and the search for the six men is underway.
"We have formed five police teams and searches are being conducted. A case has already been registered in this regard and further investigation is on," Senior Superintendent of Police (Patna) Rajeev Mishra was quoted as saying by NDTV.
"This woman herself had taken Rs 1,500, which she has repaid. In another case, they helped someone else to borrow Rs 6,000. This is a five to six year old case. That person has not given the money, so now Pramod is demanding that money from them," Khusrupur SHO Siyaram Yadav said.
On allegations about the accused urinating in her mouth and stripping her naked, Yadav said, "These allegations have been found to be completely false in the initial investigation. The matter is only about money. We are investigating further."
Look back: There have been several, recent incidents of people belonging to the Dalit community facing violence in various parts of the country:
Earlier this month, an 18-year-old Dalit youth was allegedly beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur for demanding the wage promised to him for four days of labour.
In August, four Dalit boys were hung upside down from a tree and beaten with sticks over the suspicion of stealing a goat and a few pigeons in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.
In July, a video showing then-BJP worker Pravesh Shukla urinating on a Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district went viral, sparking massive public outrage.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)