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Deoria: A 14-year-old Dalit girl was tied to a tree and allegedly beaten by a shopkeeper who accused her of theft, and dragged her through the village by her hair in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district, in an incident of caste violence.

The incident occurred on May 31 under the Tarkulwa Police Station limits in Mishrauli village. The shopkeeper, Harikesh Gupta, was later arrested on June 1 after a video of the humiliating incident was widely circulated on social media.

A clip shows Gupta tying the girl to a tree with a rope and assaulting her over suspicion of stealing goods from his shop, while several villagers surround her.

She was subjected to casteist slurs, with her family claiming Gupta humiliated the minor by dragging her by her hair through the village before tying her to the neem tree outside his house.

The video, recorded and shared by one of the onlookers, triggered major backlash and outrage online over the treatment of Dalits at the hands of the upper caste community.

Police received information on emergency helpline 112

The Deoria Police said following an emergency call on the helpline 112, the officers reached the site and rescued the 14-year-old girl. Harikesh Gupta has since been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Act.

Circle Officer Sunil Kumar Reddy confirmed the incident in a video statement.

“The Tarkulwa Police Station in Deoria district received information via 112 that a shopkeeper in the village of Chakjagbandhan, also known as Mishrauli, forcibly interrogated a girl regarding a shop theft,” Reddy said.

“The accused has been taken into custody. Based on the application received in this regard, a case has been registered under relevant sections and further legal action is being taken as per the rules,” he added.

Dalit activists call out casteism in India

Dalit activists and advocacy groups responded to the assault on social media.

“If the accused is from an upper caste community and the victim is Dalit, it is not even considered a crime in this country,” Ravi Parmar, a social activist, wrote on X. “Don’t oppress Dalits so much that the humanity of you Manuvadi parasitic leeches dies of shame.”

“India is turning into a graveyard for Dalits; Dalit people are still forced to live the lives of slaves in free India; beating and killing Dalits has become common place.”

Suraj Kumar Bauddh, an anti-caste activist, said, “Is there any government, judiciary, law and order, child rights commission, or human rights commission for Dalits in this country, or are all institutions only for the upper castes?”