A 30-year-old Dalit man in Rajasthan’s Barmer has alleged that he was beaten up by a group of upper-caste men on Sunday evening for sporting a moustache, police said.
The man, Hemant Meghwal of Marudi village, told the police that the attack took place two days after some people from the upper castes issued a diktat prohibiting Dalits from sporting a moustache, wearing sunglasses or sitting on a chair outside their house.
Kotwali police station sub-inspector Chain Prakash said Hemant Meghwal was at a salon when a group of 5-10 men barged in and started thrashing him for his moustache. Meghwal told the police that two of his friends who intervened to save him were also beaten up.
He also alleged that the accused also took ₹1,500.
Police said a case has been registered for causing hurt, criminal intimidation, theft, unlawful assembly and rioting under the Indian Penal Code and under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against seven accused.
As news of the assault spread in Barmer city, a large number of people from the Dalit community gathered outside the city police station to protest. They dispersed after being assured of police action. An officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) has been assigned to investigate the case.
