Police are trying to identify the people involved in the beating based on a video of the assault circulating on social media
NEW DELHI — Give a dog a bad name and hang him goes an English proverb. In our society this proverb is being used to victimise the Dalits and other minority communities.
In a recent incident in the Budhana town of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, 30-year-old Dalit, Monu, was beaten to death by locals on suspicion of theft on Sunday, police said on Monday.
Commenting on the lynching, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Aditya Bansal said: “No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty”.
According to a complaint lodged by Monu’s family, he was beaten up by locals on suspicion of theft. He came home badly injured and succumbed to his injuries late in the night, the family said.
Police said they are trying to identify the people involved in the beating based on a video of the assault circulating on social media.
Some individuals have also been taken into custody for interrogation, they said.
However, his lynching echoes a long, painful history of caste-based violence in the region and beyond. The repeated targeting of marginalised communities reveals deep-rooted societal prejudice that remains unchecked.
Similar acts of mob violence — often against Dalits and Muslims — have surfaced across Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states, whether over theft, inter-caste relationships, ration disputes, rumour-driven accusations of cow slaughter.
This tragic incident underscores a stark denial of due process, where villagers took justice into their own hands. Mob violence, driven by suspicion, completely bypasses legal safeguards—denying an individual the fundamental right to a fair trial. Such vigilantism signals a breakdown of societal trust in institutions meant to protect and administer justice.
Monu’s lynching in Budhana is not merely an act of brutality; it is a societal failure—one that violates constitutional values, perpetuates caste hostility, and normalises extrajudicial violence. — With inputs from PTI
