Rajasthan: Dalit man forced to rub nose in temple for criticising Hindu gods, seven arrested

A Dalit man was forced to rub his nose on a pedestal inside a temple after he derogatory statement about Hindu deities in an argument on social media regarding the controversial film ‘The Kashmir Files,’ in Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

On Tuesday night, an FIR was filed against 11 people under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and seven people were arrested, according to police.

The event occurred under the jurisdiction of the Behror Police Station on Monday The victim, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, is supposedly seen rubbing his nose in a temple under the influence of those present in a video that went viral.

The victim questioned whether atrocities had only been committed against Pandits and not Dalits in a Facebook post. He wrote that daily crimes are committed on the poor and that they are not safe.

Responding to his post, some users wrote ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ in the comments. Meghwal allegedly reacted to this with some derogatory remarks against the gods which provoked the people.

Later, Meghwal sought an apology on social media for his comments but some locals forcibly took him to a temple on March 21 and asked him to seek an apology there.