Four Dalit men 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, the police said on Sunday, 27 August.
A purported video of the incident went viral on social media, following which the police arrested one person. On the other hand, five other accused persons are absconding, a police official told news agency PTI.
The incident: The six accused persons allegedly went to the homes of the four Dalit men, who are all in their 20s, and forced them to accompany them, the police said. They were then taken to a location where they were hanged upside down and beaten with sticks.
Who are the accused? The accused persons have been identified as Yuvraj Galande, Manoj Bodake, Pappu Parkhe, Deepak Gaikwad, Durgesh Vaidya and Raju Borage, PTI reported.
One of the accused persons purportedly recorded the incident, following which the video surfaced on social media.
The victims were later taken to a hospital after one of them lodged a police complaint.
Charges invoked: The accused have been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 364 (kidnapping) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Meanwhile, a shutdown was observed on Sunday in the Haregaon village in protest against the incident.
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