Berhampur: Odisha Police Thursday arrested the main accused in the assault and public humiliation of two Dalit men in Dharakote, Ganjam district, over allegations of cattle smuggling.
With the arrest of Rajesh Samal (20) of Jahada in the incident, the number of people arrested in the case has increased to 12, including a juvenile, they said.
“Police has launched a manhunt for other persons who are also involved in the case,” said Chandrika Swain, inspector in charge, Dharakote police station.
Sunday, accused persons had detained Babula Nayak (54) and Bulu Nayak of Singipur panchayat at Kharigumma, when they were transporting two cows and a calf in an auto-rickshaw. Prime accused Rajesh Samal and his associates tortured suspecting them to be cattle smugglers.
Police said that they also demanded Rs 30,000 from them and forced Babula and Bulu to crawl on their knees for around 2 km on the road and forced them to eat grass and drink drain water.
The victims said that they were not cattle smugglers, but were taking the cows and calf for gifting the animals as gifts on the marriage of Babula Nayak’s daughter. However, the mob did not pay any heed to them and subjected cruelty, police said.
The incident has triggered widespread outrage across the country, prompting Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to demand stringent action against the culprits.
The Congress has also rushed a fact-finding team to Dharakote area to meet the victims.
Senior BJP leader and former deputy speaker in state assembly Ram Chandra Panda, however, said the state government has taken swift action against the accused and arrested 12 persons.
A team of the district administration, led by Sub-Collector, Bhanjanagar, Uma Shankar Behera, has visited the houses of the victims and provided Rs 10,000 each from the Red Cross fund.
When police are investigating the matter, it should not be politicised, he said, adding that the Mohan Majhi government in the state was very alert on such sensitive matters.
PTI
