Berhampur: A day after the NHRC’s notice the Odisha government, three more persons were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in the physical assault and humiliation of two Dalit men at Dharakote in Ganjam district on June 26, on suspicion of cattle smuggling.
The arrested have been identified as Sunil Swain (21) and Ashish Barala (19) of Bethuar and Santosh Kumar Polai (32) of Nabaratnapur.
With the fresh arrests, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 16.
Police said they were searching for others allegedly involved in the incident, which triggered widespread outrage with the Opposition, including BJD, Congress and the Left parties, seeking stringent action against the accused persons. A fact-finding team of the Congress also visited Singipur and held discussions with the victims.
While 13 persons, including a juvenile, were earlier arrested, Rajesh Samal (20) of Jahada was identified as the prime accused in the case.
According to the FIR, a mob intercepted Bulu Nayak (52) and Babul Nayak (43) of Singipur at Kharigumma under Dharakote police limits when they were transporting a cow and two calves to their village on a cargo auto-rickshaw as part of dowry arrangement of a family’s marriage ceremony. Accusing them of transporting the cattle illegally, the group snatched their mobile phones and cash and demanded Rs 30,000 to release the animals. When the men expressed their inability to pay, the miscreants tied their limbs, thrashed them, partially shaved their heads at a local salon, forced them to crawl for nearly two km to Jahada village with grass clamped between their teeth and had them drink sewage water.
The NHRC observed that the case is a violation of human rights and issued notices to the chief secretary and the DGP on Wednesday, calling for a detailed report on the matter in two weeks.