india

Updated: Feb 23, 2020 11:23 IST

One man was arrested and another was detained on Saturday after yet another widely-shared video of a group of people beating three Dalit men who allegedly stole five donkeys in Jaisalmer’s Rama village, police said.

Jaisalmer’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Kiran Kang said the search for other accused is on. About 16 people have been accused of thrashing the trio.

The latest video comes on the heels of two similar videos of atrocities against Dalit men in Barmer and Nagaur.

Police in Jaisamler acted promptly after the video went viral on Saturday following which the SP directed officers to identify victims and the accused and take necessary action.

“During investigation police came to know that the incident captured in the video is of February 15, which took place in Rama village falling under limits of Sangarh police station. Three men identified as Gena Ram, Moola Ram, Sumera Ram on February 15 night had stolen five donkeys from Rama village and were going towards Devikot village. In between the villagers caught them, beat them and handed over to local police,” said Kang.

The locals did not register any FIR against the three men nor gave a written complaint but the police booked the trio for disturbing peace.

“The three men did not tell us that they were beaten by villagers. On February 16, they were presented before SDM Fatehgarh and were granted bail,” Kang added.

On Saturday, Moola Ram (21) told the police that he and his two aides were beaten by the villagers. An FIR was then registered against more than a dozen unknown accused.

“On the basis of the video, Bhawani Dan was arrested and one man has been detained who is being quizzed. We are trying to identify the other accused too and nab them. Investigation is on,” the SP said.

On Thursday, seven people were arrested on charges of torturing two young Dalit men for allegedly stealing ₹50,000 from a motorcycle service centre in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district on February 16, a day after videos of their ordeal went viral on social media.

Similarly, a 22-year-old man was beaten and brutalised by three men on suspicion that he stole a mobile phone in Barmer district. The incident took place on January 29 but came to light recently when a video of the assault went viral on social media platforms on Friday.