‘Stripped and beaten for 4 hours’ inside school hostel, Dalit student recalls ordeal

Police file FIR against six students, who targeted the youth over allegations of stealing a phone and money.

A Dalit student in Jharkhand was hospitalised after allegedly being assaulted and subjected to threats of sexual assault for nearly four hours inside a government residential school hostel over allegations of stealing a mobile phone and money.

An FIR has been registered against six students, though no arrests have been made so far.

The incident has sparked protests against the school and hostel authorities. On July 14, some students allegedly barged into the 16-year-old youth’s room while he was asleep, gagged him and dragged him to another room, where he was stripped and assaulted.

“Three people hit me with belts while others filmed it. They then rubbed salt on the wounds and hit me again. They also threatened to sexually assault me,” he told The Indian Express.

A purported clip of the incident shows the student pleading with the accused while being made to strip and do push-ups and sit-ups.

He alleged the accused also used casteist slurs during the ordeal and threatened him into silence.

“They also took away my phone,” the youth said. “I was silent for two days, but when I could no longer bear the pain, I called my father using someone else’s phone.”

The youth’s family has been protesting, demanding the arrest of the accused, invocation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and action against the school.

“My son has been subjected to casteist slurs earlier, too,” his father alleged.

When contacted, the local police station in charge, M D Iffar Ahmed, said an FIR had been registered and the investigation is underway. On the demand for invoking the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said one of the accused students was also a Dalit, but declined to share further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

The administration has ordered the suspension of the accused from the school, while the youth is undergoing treatment at a government hospital.

Shubham Tigga is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, presently based in Pune, where he covers the intersections of infrastructure, labor, and the modern economy. His reporting focuses on civil aviation, urban mobility, the gig economy, and workers' unions, providing critical insights into how transit and commercial sectors impact the daily lives of citizens. Expertise & Background Before moving to Pune, he reported extensively from his home state of Chhattisgarh, where he focused on Indigenous (Adivasi) issues, environmental justice, and grassroots struggles in mainland India. This experience gives him a unique lens through which he analyzes the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects on local communities. Academic Foundation He is an alumnus of the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), where he honed his skills in investigative reporting and ethical journalism. His academic training, combined with his field experience in Central India, allows him to navigate complex socio-economic landscapes with nuance and accuracy. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More

A Dalit student in Jharkhand was hospitalised after allegedly being assaulted and subjected to threats of sexual assault for nearly four hours inside a government residential school hostel over allegations of stealing a mobile phone and money.

An FIR has been registered against six students, though no arrests have been made so far.

The incident has sparked protests against the school and hostel authorities. On July 14, some students allegedly barged into the 16-year-old youth’s room while he was asleep, gagged him and dragged him to another room, where he was stripped and assaulted.

“Three people hit me with belts while others filmed it. They then rubbed salt on the wounds and hit me again. They also threatened to sexually assault me,” he told The Indian Express.

A purported clip of the incident shows the student pleading with the accused while being made to strip and do push-ups and sit-ups.

He alleged the accused also used casteist slurs during the ordeal and threatened him into silence.

“They also took away my phone,” the youth said. “I was silent for two days, but when I could no longer bear the pain, I called my father using someone else’s phone.”

The youth’s family has been protesting, demanding the arrest of the accused, invocation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and action against the school.

“My son has been subjected to casteist slurs earlier, too,” his father alleged.

When contacted, the local police station in charge, M D Iffar Ahmed, said an FIR had been registered and the investigation is underway. On the demand for invoking the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said one of the accused students was also a Dalit, but declined to share further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

The administration has ordered the suspension of the accused from the school, while the youth is undergoing treatment at a government hospital.