Tortured with pliers, nails driven into feet; murder of Dalit teen sparks outrage

NEW TEHRI (U’khand), June 9: His nails were pulled out with pliers, iron nails were driven into his feet, and severe wounds were dealt to his genitals, the father of a Dalit boy who was allegedly killed over an intercaste affair has claimed.
Irate villagers mobbed the Baurari District Hospital here on Tuesday where the boy succumbed to the wounds.
The family of the 18-year-old refused to accept his body for the last rites until all his attackers were arrested.
According to the police, the victim, Ketan Lal, 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 went to Kholgarh with a friend, Diwakar Dimri.
When they both arrived, members of the girl’s family locked them both in a room and assaulted them with sticks, the police said. Ketan succumbed during treatment.
Ketan was subjected to extreme physical torture, leaving deep bruises covering his back, chest, and limbs, his family claimed.
The police have arrested two primary suspects, the girl’s father, Yashveer Singh, and her grandfather, Vidya Singh. On Tuesday, Ketan’s relatives and villagers demonstrated outside the hospital, accusing the police of failing to arrest the attackers.
Ketan’s father, Dhanpal Lal, broke down while speaking to reporters. The police said Ketan belonged to a Scheduled Caste community and was in a relationship with the minor daughter of Yashveer Singh. The two had been speaking over the telephone for the past six months.
Dhanpal Lal claimed that the attackers used pliers to pluck the teenager’s fingernails and toenails, drove nails into his feet and caused severe injuries to his genitals. (PTI)