10 persons booked for assault of Dalit couple in MP

MADHYA PRADESH: An elderly Dalit couple in Madhya Pradesh's Ashok Nagar district was allegedly assaulted and forced to wear garlands of shoes as their son had reportedly been involved in an eve-teasing incident, police said on Sunday.

A case has been registered against 10 people, believed to be connected with the incident that occurred on Friday in Kilora village, under the Mungaoli police station limits.

After the son allegedly eve-teasing the wife of one of the accused, the Dalit family left the village, Mungaoli police station in-charge Gabbar Singh Gurjar said.

"On Friday, the accused allegedly tied the 65-year-old man Dalit man and his 60-year-old wife to a pole to beat them up and then forced them to wear garlands of shoes," he said.

Following a complaint by the old woman, the police on Saturday registered a case against the 10 under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly with common objective), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (obscene act) and 506 (criminal intimidation) as well as provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

"All of the accused have absconded and efforts are being taken to trace them," the police added.