A Moradabad court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for a brutal assault that included casteist slurs and physical violence using a brick. The incident, which took place on July 27, 2020, in Dilari, involved the assailant attacking a local laborer, Ravidas Sagar, during a work-related dispute.
The court also imposed a fine of INR 105,000 on the convict, with additional penalties for non-payment. The assault occurred near a government-run cheap grain shop in Gram Behedi Brahmanan, Bhojpur, where Sagar and his colleagues were unloading goods. An altercation ensued over the handling of the goods, leading to the violent attack by Hradesh, a fellow villager.
The victim reported the incident to the Dilari police station, stating that Hradesh, angered by the work arrangements, resorted to casteist taunts before physically assaulting him with a brick, causing severe head injuries and rendering him unconscious. Prior assaults by the accused were also noted.
The case was tried under the special SC-ST Act provisions by Judge Sandeep Gupta. Public prosecutor Lok Anand Pal Singh highlighted eyewitness accounts and the severity of the attack, countering the defense’s claim of a village feud as the motive for framing the accused.
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The court’s ruling included multiple sentences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC-ST Act:
- Life imprisonment and a fine under Section 3(2)(v) of the SC-ST Act for acts of atrocity.
- Ten years’ imprisonment and a fine under IPC Section 307 for attempted murder.
- Additional penalties for threatening behavior and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.
