A Dalit youth allegedly died in police custody after being picked up for not having a mask and helmet in Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. After Y. Kiran Kumar died while being treated for a head injury in a private hospital in Guntur on Tuesday, the police registered a case of death in police custody (Criminal Procedure Code section 176). In a separate case, a Dalit man was tonsured and roughed up by police for not wearing a mask and helmet.
Andhra CM Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy asked for immediate and strict action. He announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the deceased’s family. In connection with the incident, one Sub-Inspector and two constables were suspended in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh for tonsuring a Dalit man named Varaprasad’s head. The accused cops have been booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Andhra DGP Gautam Sawang said, “We have taken a prompt action by suspending the SI and 2 other staff members in East Godavari district Seethanagaram police station. The TDP strongly condemned the two incidents, saying that the Dalits are tortured in the Jagan regime. The leader of the Opposition tweeted, “ Varaprasad’s head was tonsured. All this happened in the presence of policemen who destroyed the self-esteem of a Dalit man. His only mistake was to question the illegal sand mining in the region. rights.”