The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) on Monday condemned the recent incident in Fatehpur district, where a 47-year-old Dalit man was paraded after his head was shaved and he was beaten.

Describing the act as barbaric, the party called for an impartial investigation, the arrest of the perpetrators, and strict punishment.

CPI (ML) state secretary Sudhakar Yadav, in a statement issued on Monday, highlighted the rising morale of “Manuwadi feudal elements with an anti-Dalit mindset under the current Yogi Adityanath-led government”. The incident occurred on December 27 in Behlopur Alai village, where a Dalit man named Shivbadan was attacked by the accused, who alleged that he was pressuring people to convert to Christianity.

The attackers beat his entire family, including his wife and children, and dragged Shivbadan to a temple where they shaved his head, beat him with shoes, paraded him to another temple, forced him to recite Hanuman Chalisa, and then beat him again.

According to the victim, the accused were upper-caste individuals and members of the Bajrang Dal.

Yadav stated that the police initially refused to register an FIR, but after pressure, they registered the FIR from the victim and also filed a counter-FIR on behalf of the accused.

He further demanded that the Human Rights Commission take note of this shameful incident, which, he argued, violated the principles of humanity and the Constitution.

Criticising the government’s claims of promoting a “developed India”, Yadav emphasised that such incidents were still occurring in the state. He also condemned Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly insulting

Dr BR Ambedkar’s legacy and the Constitution.

Yadav questioned “whether the BJP’s vision of a developed India was based on Manusmriti, the ancient text that enforces caste-based discrimination”.