A Dalit youngster who refused to marry a girl of his community was subjected to physical abuse and humiliation inside the court premises in Agra on Tuesday.

22-year-old Vinod was stripped, tied to a tree and beaten up by the girl's relative -- a lawyer -- who then got the victim's head tonsured.

Ravindra Singh also asked a number pf other lawyers to spit at the young man, who suffered the humiliation for hours before the police arrived.

Singh claimed that Vinod had ditched the girl after having once committed to marry her, "Subsequently, whenever I rang him up to discuss the issue, Vinod used filthy abusive language which had caused much humiliation to me," Singh told reporters in Agra.

What happened on Tuesday was in retaliation to Vinod's insolent behaviour, he claimed.

However, taking serious note of the incident, the state government on Wednesday directed the Agra police to register a case against all those involved in the incident. "We have also written to the Uttar Pradesh Bar Association to take suitable action against the erring lawyers," UP's Principal Home Secretary K.Chandramauli said.