An 18-year-old Dalit youth was reportedly beaten to death, while his friend suffered serious injuries, in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal district. Police said the attack was linked to the youth's friendship with a minor girl from an upper-caste family.
The deceased has been identified as Ketan Lal, a resident of Deval village. His friend, Diwakar Dimri, who was also assaulted, is undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Baurari.
According to a complaint filed by Ketan's father, Dhanpal Lal, the incident took place on Sunday night in Kholgarh village. Ketan was reportedly friends with a girl from the village and had known her for about six months.
Police said that around 11 pm on Sunday, the girl called Ketan and asked him to come to Kholgarh. Ketan went there along with his friend Diwakar.
When the two reached the village, members of the girl's family allegedly confined them in a room and beat them with sticks, police said. The next morning, the girl's father reportedly called Dhanpal Lal and informed him about his son's condition. He asked him to come and take Ketan back.
When Dhanpal reached the village, he found his son badly injured and covered in blood. Ketan was rushed to a community health centre in Chaund Lambgaon, where doctors declared him dead, according to police.
The incident triggered anger among local residents and family members. They initially refused to take the body from the hospital and demanded immediate action against those responsible.
Tehri Garhwal Senior Superintendent of Police Shweta Choubey said a murder case had been registered along with charges under Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Police have detained one accused, Yashveer Singh Panwar, for questioning. Further investigation is underway.
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