Dharakote: A day after a kangaroo court forced two persons from the Dalit community to crawl on their knees, accusing them of cattle smuggling at Kharigumma village under Dharakote police limits in Ganjam district, police Monday detained nine persons in this connection.
The accused have been detained and are being questioned in this connection, Dharakote IIC Chandrika Swain said.
According to police, several villagers at Kharigumma village Sunday stopped the two Dalits as they were walking with three cows from Haripur to their village, Singipur, to handover the cattle as dowry to their daughter.
The mob accused them of smuggling cattle and tried to extort money from them. When the victims refused to pay, they were taken to a salon where their heads were half tonsured.
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Later, the victims were paraded on the road for nearly 2km from Kharigumma to Jahada village and forced to crawl on their knees along the Jahada village road. Both men were reportedly compelled to drink drain water, beaten and made to eat grass.
The victims were taken for medical treatment before officers safely returned them to their native Singipur village.
Following their complaints at Dharakote police station, police registered a case (240/25) and began an investigation. The Dharakote IIC said 14 or 15 people may have been involved.
Police believe a group of self-styled cow vigilantes illegally demanded money by taking the law into their own hands.
Officers are searching for allthe accused involved in the incident. Aska Sub-Divisional Police Officer Santosh Jena is leading the investigation.
PNN