A barber and a salon owner have been booked for allegedly directing casteist slurs towards a Dalit man in Tamil Nadu's Salem, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday, 27 October.
26-year-old Poovasaran, the complainant, was allegedly denied a haircut by the salon staff, who made casteist remarks against him.
Three persons, Loganathan, Annakilli, and Palanivel of the 'New Style Saloon' have been booked by the police under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, Sub-Inspector of Thalavasal Police Selvaraj told IE.
While Palanivel has been apprehended, a special team has been formed by the police to capture the other two accused, who are absconding.
Crimes against persons categorised as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have increased by over nine percent in the country from 2019 to 2020, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau report.
A significant increase from 2019 was witnessed in states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, with Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh also seeing an increase.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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