Dalit man chained and kept in cattle shed for 31 hrs after failing to repay loan
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shankar Lal said in the complaint, the victim, Radheshyam Meghwal has alleged that a farm owner, Paramjit Singh, his younger brother and four others, abducted and tortured him.
After failing to repay a loan he had taken, a 35-year-old Dalit youth was allegedly kidnapped, beaten, chained and kept in a cattle shed for 31 hours in Bundi district of Rajasthan. An FIR has been lodged against six people, who are absconding, police said.
According to the police, the incident happened in Bundi district under Taleda police station area. In the complaint, the victim, who is a labourer, has alleged that he was beaten and kept chained in a cattle shed by the local landlord.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shankar Lal said in the complaint, the victim, Radheshyam Meghwal has alleged that a farm owner, Paramjit Singh, his younger brother and four others, abducted and tortured him.
“I was hired as hali (unofficial annual work contract) by Singh three years back for an annual wage of ₹70,000, and had also taken a loan of ₹30,000 for my sister’s marriage. I was hired as hali for May 2019 to April 2020 at ₹70,000. I continuously worked 24x7 for six months at his farm due to which I fell ill and left the job,” Meghwal states in the complaint
He added that soon after he quit his job, Singh started demanding ₹1,10,000, which included interest on the amount. “After leaving the work, I returned ₹25,000 but he kept adding interest on the amount. In 2020, I gave him ₹25,000. In 2021, Singh and his younger brother forcefully took me away from the village and got me to do harvesting work for 10 days,” he alleged.
On May 22, this year, Singh along with his brother and four other unidentified people abducted him from a tea stall at 11 am. “I was taken to Singh’s house, chained, beaten and kept inside a cattle shed for 31 hours. Knowing that I had been kidnapped, my younger brother arrived the next day and urged them to release me, but they demanded ₹1,10,000. My brother approached another landlord of the area, who gave an advance of ₹46,000 on assurance that I will work as hali at his farm. Then I was freed from captivity,” the Dalit man alleged in the FIR.
On May 24, he lodged a complaint against the accused and others. Deputy SP Shankar Lal said prima facie the complaint was found to be correct. A case under IPC section 365, 342, 343, 323, and the SC/ST Act has been lodged. The accused are at large and efforts are being made to nab them.
