Vijaypura, July 20: A Dalit man and his family members were assaulted by a mob allegedly after he touched a bike of a man who belonged to the upper caste, police said. The beating took place at Talikote in Karnataka's Vijayapura district on July 18. A video clip has also emerged online showing the mob pinning down the Dalit man and beating him. The video also showed his family members getting assaulted. Dalit Couple Beaten Up: Six Cops Suspended.

According to a report by NDTV, the police said the Dalit man and his family members were targetted after he had touched motorcycle of an upper-caste man. Following the assault, the victim reached the police station and lodged a complaint. "It was alleged that when he accidentally touched the bike of a man who belonged to the upper caste that he and his family members were assaulted by some 13 men," senior police officer Anupam Aggarwal was quoted as saying. Uttar Pradesh: Dalit and Upper Caste Communities Clash in Kanpur Dehat District, 6 Injured.

The Dalit man named 13 people in his complaint. Based on the complaint, a case under SC/ST Act and sections 143,147, 324, 354, 504, 506, 149 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered. While police have questioned some accused, no arrest has been made so far. The video surfaced at a time when physical distancing norms are in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Most of the attackers had face masks and were standing close to each other.

Karnataka is the fourth worst-hit state in the country by the pandemic. Record 4,120 new positive cases in 24 hours shot up Karnataka's COVID-19 tally to a whopping 63,772 on Monday, including 39,370 active after 23,095 were discharged so far. With 91 more patients succumbing to the infection across the state over the past 24 hours, the death toll touched 1,331.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2020 01:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).