Beaten, tonsured at filmmaker Nutan Naidu’s house, says Dalit youth

A youth from the scheduled caste community was beaten and tonsured for allegedly stealing an iPhone from Telugu filmmaker Nutan Naidu’s house.

According to NDTV, acting on the complaint of the 20-year-old victim, police have filed a case against seven people including Naidu’s wife Priya Madhuri, charging them under several sections of IPC and under the SC/ST Act including attempt to murder.

CCTV footage show a group of people hitting the youth who is sitting on the ground and tonsuring him even as cries for mercy.

According to the report, the youth was employed in Naidu’s house between February and August 1 and was called by his wife on August 27 when she found her mobile phone missing. Even though he denied stealing it, he was called the following day again and beaten and his head tonsured after being detained for hours. The family had let him go with a warning and asked not to report the incident to anyone.

The incident comes close on the heels of a Dalit man beaten and his head and moustache shaved allegedly by cops at the behest of an MLA of the YSRCP. In another incident in July, a Dalit youth in Prakasam district succumbed to his injuries after being allegedly beaten by police for not wearing a face mask.