BHOPAL, India, 24 June 2006 — Interns of a medical college in the central Indian town of Bhopal beat up a laborer for hours, shorn off his hair and forced him to drink urine because they suspected him of stealing a wristwatch.
The incident came to light when the man managed to escape from the clutches of the interns of Gandhi Medical College and reported the matter to police.
According to police, Baliram Ahirwar, a Dalit, or low caste, house painter from Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, was working Thursday in Koh-e-Fiza locality of the walled city when a group of interns accosted him on suspicion of stealing a wristwatch from their hostel. They took the man to the hostel and beat him repeatedly from 2.30 in the afternoon until 8 at night. From the police station, he was taken to Hamidia Hospital for a medical examination.
