UP Dalit attacked for using a chair

On Sunday in Awagarh, Uttar Pradesh's Etah district, a young Dalit man was reportedly beaten for eating while seated on a chair.

In his statement to the Awagarh police, the victim, Pankaj Sagar of Suraya village in Firozabad, said that Yogesh Yadav and his four pals from Nawali village in Etah had arrived at the restaurant on two motorbikes and requested him to vacate the table.

"They yelled at me after asking my caste. I was then made to sit on the ground by force. Yogesh took out a handgun and shot me many times with its butt while I struggled to fight them.

Pankaj said to the police and media that "they screamed insults at me and ordered me not to dare eat at a dining table of a restaurant in the neighbourhood."

Pankaj said that despite having never spoken to the assailants, he recognised their faces.

The villages of the victim and the assailants are around 10 km apart, and Etah and Firozabad are adjacent districts.

Pankaj added, "Some others who were in the restaurant stopped the beatings and helped me go to the police station."

"It looks that they had some problems over the last several months and began fighting when they ran into one other at the restaurant," said Phool Chand, in charge of the Awagarh police station.

"We have opened a case and are looking at it. If the accusations are confirmed, the defendants will be taken into custody, the officer stated.

He said, "We brought the man to a hospital for a medical evaluation and discovered several injuries on his face, shoulder, and back.