An 18-year-old Dalit youth, Ketan Lal, was allegedly beaten to death over his friendship with an upper-caste minor girl.
The victim's friend, Diwakar Dimri, was severely injured in the assault and remains hospitalised in Baurari.
Police have registered a case under murder charges and the SC/ST Act, detaining one accused for questioning.
A fatal caste-based assault in Uttarakhand’s Pratapnagar block has left an 18-year-old Dalit youth dead and his associate critically hospitalised following objections over a cross-caste relationship, PTI reported. The targeted attack, triggered by the victim's association with a minor girl from an upper caste family, has sparked intense local outrage and prompted swift police intervention under special atrocity laws.
The deceased, identified as Deval village resident Ketan Lal, succumbed to his injuries on Monday morning, while his companion, Diwakar Dimri, remains under medical care at the district hospital in Baurari.
According to a complaint lodged by the victim's father, Dhanpal Lal, the incident occurred on Sunday night in Kholgarh village. Ketan had reportedly been in a friendship with a girl from Kholgarh for the past six months. On Sunday at around 11 pm, the girl called Ketan on his mobile phone and asked him to come to her village. Ketan subsequently travelled to Kholgarh accompanied by Diwakar Dimri.
Upon their arrival at the location, members of the girl's family locked both youths inside a room and severely assaulted them utilising sticks, the police said on Monday. The following morning, the girl's father contacted Dhanpal Lal to inform him of the situation, requesting that he collect his son.
Dhanpal found his son covered in blood and rushed him to a community health centre in Chaund Lambgaon where he succumbed, reported PTI. In the immediate aftermath, grieving local residents and family members initially refused to claim the body from the medical facility, demanding the immediate arrest of those responsible.
Tehri Garhwal Senior Superintendent of Police Shweta Choubey stated that a formal case has been registered under charges of murder alongside Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. According to PTI, law enforcement officials have already detained one of the primary accused, Yashveer Singh Panwar, for interrogation.
(With inputs from PTI)
