Four Dalit men were allegedly hanged upside down from a tree and beaten up with sticks by six persons on suspicion of stealing a goat and some pigeons in a village in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, police said on Sunday.
A video of the incident surfaced on social media, following which the police on Saturday arrested one person in connection with the attack, while five others are absconding, an Ahmednagar police official said.
A shutdown was observed in Haregaon village in Shrirampur taluka on Sunday in protest against the incident.
Opposition Congress has termed the incident as a "blot" on humanity and the fallout of "hate" being spread by BJP.
On August 25, a group of six persons from the village allegedly went to the homes of four Dalit men, all in their 20s, and forced them to accompany them, the official said.
They were hanged upside down from a tree and beaten up with sticks over the suspicion of stealing a goat and some pigeons, he said.
The accused have been identified as Yuvraj Galande, Manoj Bodake, Pappu Parkhe, Deepak Gaikwad, Durgesh Vaidya and Raju Borage, the official said.
One of the accused allegedly shot a video of the attack, which later surfaced on social media, he said.
The injured men were later taken to a nearby hospital, the official said, adding that one of the victims, Shubham Magade, lodged a complaint with the police.
A case under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 364 (kidnapping) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered, the official said.
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said the incident was a blot on humanity, and demanded that all the accused be arrested immediately and given strict punishment.
"Such incidents are a result of hate being spread by BJP for its political gain," he alleged.
Nationalist Congress Party's chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase accused the government of failing to protect the self-respect of Dalits.
