Rajasthan Dalit assault: Congress, BJP leaders visit victims in Nagaur town; saffron party accuses state govt of negligence

Jaipur: Leaders from the Congress and the BJP on Friday visited Nagaur , where two Dalit men were beaten up in an act caught on camera. Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal led the BJP panel to look into the incident while the Congress sent a team headed by Rajasthan revenue minister Harish Chaudhary. Meghwal lashed at the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government, saying it was responsible for the incident. “The chief minister is holding the portfolio of home minister but there is no control over crime and the government is responsible for the incident,” Meghwal, the minister of state for heavy industries and public enterprises, said. [caption id=“attachment_4291973” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Ashok Gehlot. Twitter/@ashokgehlot511[/caption] Rashtriya Loktantrik MLA Narayan Beniwal also visited the town and met the victims who were allegedly beaten up, stripped and tortured by staffers of a motorcycle service agency after accusing them of committing theft. The brutal incident came to light after a video of the assault went viral. In the video, a group of men is seen thrashing two persons with rubber belts. They later dip a piece of cloth wrapped on a screwdriver in petrol and insert it in the private parts of one of the victims. Meghwal, who represents the Bikaner parliamentary constituency in Parliament, also accused police of manipulating the case. “There was also a failure on part of the police because they could not get to know about the incident when it happened,” he said. The Union minister alleged that the victims were under pressure. Meghwal was accompanied by party legislators Madan Diwalar and Mohan Ram. After meeting the victims, the BJP panel visited the spot where the incident took place on Sunday. It also visited the Panchodi police station where an FIR regarding the incident has been registered. Meghwal said an inquiry report of the panel will be submitted to BJP’s state president Satish Poonia in Jaipur on Saturday. The Congress leaders who visited the victims included revenue minister Harish Chaudhary, social justice and empowerment minister master Bhanwar Lal Meghwal, forest minister Sukhram, MLA Harish Meena and PCC general secretary Mahesh Sharma. “We met the victims and their family members and also held talks with locals as well as officials,” Chaudhary said. Police have so far arrested seven persons in connection with the case. “Seven people have been arrested after registering a case against them under various sections of IPC and the SC/ST Act. A cross FIR has also been registered for stealing money. We are ascertaining how much money was stolen from the service agency counter. Further investigation in the matter is on,” DSP, Nagaur, Mukul Sharma had said on Thursday. Section 308 of IPC (attempt to commit culpable homicide) was also been added in the FIR. The arrested accused have been identified as Bhim Singh, Idaan Singh, Hanuman Singh, Raghuveer Singh, Chhail Singh, Chhatar Singh and Rehmatullah. Director General of Police Bhupendra Singh said in Jaipur that the matter was being investigated thoroughly and none will be spared. He said the IG Human Rights has been sent to Nagaur to monitor the investigation. A delegation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) met the DGP and handed over him a representation demanding justice for the victims and also government jobs for them.