UP: BJP worker arrested for allegedly assaulting Dalit engineer with shoe

A Bharatiya Janata Party worker has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district for allegedly assaulting a Dalit engineer with his shoe in his office, PTI reported.

A video of the assault, which took place on Saturday, was widely circulated on social media. It showed a heated argument between Lal Singh, a superintending engineer in the electricity department, and a group of men. The officer is subsequently seen being beaten with a shoe.

Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh said that Lal Singh, in his complaint, had claimed that a man named Munna Bahadur, along with some unidentified persons, entered his office without permission. Bahadur is a member and former office-bearer of the BJP, the party’s district president Sanjay Mishra confirmed to PTI.

The police said that the accused men hurled caste-based slurs and assaulted Lal Singh with kicks, punches and a shoe. They then allegedly tore files and threatened to kill Lal Singh and his family if he filed a police report.

Bahadur, along with the group of men with him at the time, were booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act, the superintendent of police said.

Bahadur has been arrested, and an investigation is underway, the superintendent of police...

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