Lucknow: Three Dalit boys were assaulted and subjected to public humiliation in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, a state governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The boys, aged between 12 and 14, were accused of theft, had their heads shaved, faces blackened, and were paraded around their village with ‘thief’ inscribed on their forearms.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the incident involved two poultry farm owners who accused the boys of theft. These owners allegedly tortured the victims and carried out the public shaming because the boys failed to show up for work at the farm.
The families of the victims reported that their children were targeted by the farm owners, who escalated their punitive measures by tying the boys’ hands and marching them through the village to face community scrutiny. The local police have been cited in media reports, confirming the brutal methods used during the incident, including the shaving of the boys’ heads and the writing on their forearms.