Dozens of Dalits have been attacked on camera by upper castes in Rajasthan over the last few years. The videos that go viral on social media through WhatsApp groups add a new layer to caste violence in a state where police fail to file chargesheets in nearly half of all caste crimes. The videos of these brutal crimes serve to shame Dalit victims into living in fear or relocating, often losing faith in the law.

On the afternoon of 17 February 2020, Amra Ram* and a friend had gone to get his motorbike serviced, at a showroom in Karnu village of Nagaur in central Rajasthan, from where he had bought the two-wheeler. The showroom owner, Hanuman Singh, asked him to pay two months’ pending installments on the bike, Rs 8,400. But Amra Ram didn’t have the money, and left after an argument.

Within minutes, he received a call from Singh, calling him back.

At the showroom, Singh, who belongs to an upper caste, and his staff members stood in a circle, Amra Ram recounted to Article 14.

The duo was beaten and abused with casteist slurs. The men forcibly removed Amra Ram’s pants and, while Singh’s alleged accomplices held him pinned to the ground, another inserted a screwdriver dipped in petrol into his rectum.

One staff member filmed the incident and shared a clip on a local WhatsApp group. In the clip, Amra Ram and his friends were seen begging for mercy as they were beaten.

“They made the video of the assault, circulated it deliberately and ruined our lives to keep our fear of them intact,” Amra Ram said.

At a hospital, the young man chose not to disclose to the doctor or other acquaintances what had transpired. He reluctantly approached the police, but police officers were initially unwilling to register a case, he said. “It was after the video went viral and pressure mounted that they registered a case,” he said.

Read more- https://article-14.com/post/in-rajasthan-the-viral-video-is-used-as-a-tool-of-violence-against-dalits-61a986de439b5