Uttarakhand: Dalit taxi driver humiliated by garlanding him with shoes for picking up passengers at a lower fare, video also filmed!
The accused allegedly abused, used casteist slurs, assaulted him, and demanded 50,000 rupees for charging a lower fare. When Prem Ram protested, they put a garland of shoes around his neck, snatched his mobile phone, and uploaded a video of the incident to social media.
Champawat – A shameful incident involving a Dalit taxi driver has occurred in the Lohaghat area of Champawat district, Uttarakhand, following a dispute over carrying passengers at a lower fare. The victim driver was allegedly assaulted and publicly humiliated by other taxi drivers by garlanding him with shoes. After the video of the incident went viral on social media, police took immediate action and filed a case against four accused under the SC/ST Act.
On June 10, Prem Ram was carrying passengers from Lohaghat to Delhi at the old fare rate when other taxi drivers stopped his vehicle near Devradi Band. The accused allegedly abused Prem Ram, used casteist slurs, assaulted him, and demanded 50,000 rupees for charging a lower fare. When he resisted, they put a garland of shoes around his neck, snatched his mobile phone, and uploaded a video of the incident on social media.
The victim has filed a complaint at the Lohaghat police station. The family stated that they are deeply hurt by the incident. Prem Ram is currently in Delhi.
Lohaghat police have registered a case against four accused: Sohan Singh, Harish Bohra, Virendra Singh, and Mohan Chandra. The case has been registered under various sections of the SC/ST Act, the IT Act, and the BNS, including sections 352, 351(3), 133, 126, 308(2), 309(3), 356, and 152(2).
Champawat SP Rekha Yadav has personally monitored the case. CO Niharika is investigating. The search for the accused is ongoing. On June 13, the victim’s side submitted a memorandum to District Magistrate Manish Kumar. The District Magistrate assured strict action and directed the Transport Department to investigate fares on the Delhi-Dehradun route. Meanwhile, a large crowd gathered at the Lohaghat police station and demanded strict punishment for the accused. The SC community called it “inhumane.”
Geetha Sunil Pillai
Courtesy: Hindi News
