Dalit boy beaten up: Panchayat, residents want probe into FIR

The residents and panchayat of Nizampur village here have demanded from senior civil and police officials to investigate into an FIR registered against a villager under the SC/ST Act for allegedly beating up a 14-year-old boy from the Dalit community.

The panchayat members, three associated with Scheduled Castes (SC) and three with OBCs, said in a press conference here today that the 14-year-old boy had entered the house of one Gurinder Singh on the night of April 16 at around 11:30 pm to commit theft. They stated that the accused was earlier nabbed by the villagers for theft on two occasions.

Sarpanch Rajwinder Kaur said that Gurinder Singh had brought the matter to the notice of the panchayat immediately and the 14-year-old along with his parents had apologised for the act and promised not to repeat it in future.

She said that some local organisations which claim to work for the cause of Scheduled Castes had put pressure on the police to register the case. The residents of the village stated that some unscrupulous elements were misusing the law to divide people on communal lines.

Lakhbir Singh Nizampura of the village said, “In this case, the person who had stopped another from committing theft at his home has been sent to jail and the alleged thief has been left to roam free.” He said that incidents of petty thefts are increasing and common residents are vulnerable.

“We demand that the case be seen in the light of the facts. A petty criminal when caught should not be allowed to play the victim card,” he said.

Amritsar