Lokesh Kumar never imagined that selling biryani would land him in soup. After all, it was a business that sustained him and his family. However, a rude shock awaited the man, who belongs to a scheduled caste, from Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar.
On December 13, 2019, three upper-caste men mercilessly beat up Lokesh, damaged his cart and threw his utensils on the road. They also hurled casteist slurs at Lokesh. The assaulters also took away his income of the day.
The video of the incident went viral, triggering tension between the Dalits and upper castes, and warlike hashtags like #chamatta_biriyani_wahi_bechega and #Manuwadi_pigs started floating on the Internet.
The accused were arrested after political intervention, but no monetary relief was provided to Lokesh and his family. Lokesh, who is the father of four daughters and a three-month-old son, had to stop work after the incident.
One of our founders, Swati Goel Sharma, met Lokesh and reported the incident in detail. Then, our other founder, Sanjeev Newar, came to Lokesh’s aid. He took the case to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. The commission soon granted Lokesh a relief of Rs 50,000.
A visibly happy Lokesh thanked Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation after receiving the first grant of Rs 25,000. He said that the amount arrived at a very crucial time, allowing him to pay for his treatment.
Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation has always made it a point to stand behind those who have suffered simply due to the accident of birth in a ‘low’ caste.
Lokesh approached us for help also when his business was hit badly in the Covid-induced lockdown. Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation rushed to Lokesh’s help again. Not only that, the foundation rendered support to many others from Lokesh’s colony, most of whom are daily wage earners. We made sure that no family went hungry.
Please support us and our work, and we will try to make sure that nobody faces the brutality that Lokesh did\\\\\\\\. We are and will always be there to help.
Watch Lokesh’s video below:
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