Dalit youth thrashed by restaurant owner over spilled food in Gujarat

A Dalit youth identified as Pragnesh Parmar was thrashed by the owner of a roadside non-vegetarian food stall on late Sunday night. He has sustained multiple head injuries, several broken bones and is currently admitted to an orthopedic hospital in the Chandkheda area of Ahmedabad. His only fault was that he accidentally bumped into the waiter of the food stall, spilling food on the floor.

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According to the FIR registered at the Sabarmati Police Station, the culprits started thrashing him aggressively as soon the food was spilled. The family members have also shared that the culprits were in an inebriated state and hurled casteist slurs against the community as well. They also said that he should not dare to eat at a stall where the upper caste community comes to eat since he belongs to a lower caste. 

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Mewani threatens Gujarat Bandh

A video of the incident has also gone viral showing how the perpetrators of violence had beaten Pragnesh up with wooden ‘lathis’ and stones as well. The controversy around the incident got bigger when the MLA from Vadgaam and a Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani shared the video and threatened a ‘Gujarat Bandh’ if the accused of the crime were not apprehended in under 24 hours. He took to Twitter and wrote: "I will declare a Gujarat Bandh if the police do not arrest the perpetrators in 24 hours who attempted lynching of two Dalit youth in Ahmedabad yesterday night. Don’t think Dalits are cowards: we believe in Constitution! (sic)"   

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Mewani threatened to launch aggressive agitation on the streets as well. "I have conveyed the same to the concerned Police station. This dadgiri against Dalits will not work in front of my eyes. Arrest them today itself or else we will be agitating on the streets," he said.
However, the police officials on Monday noon claimed that they have already apprehended the stall owners and others who were actually beating the youngster up. “The owners and the accused were all identified due to the video that has come to light. We are only now waiting for the victim to regain consciousness so that he can confirm the identity of the accused. We have charged them under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act based on the information we have received as of now,” a police official of Sabarmati police station shared.

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