4 min readDehradunJun 11, 2026 04:15 AM IST
First published on: Jun 9, 2026 at 05:45 PM IST
An 18-year-old Dalit youth was killed, allegedly by the family of an upper-caste 15-year-old girl he was in a relationship with, in Uttarakhand’s Tehri district on Monday, police said.
Police identified the victim as Ketan Lal. “On Sunday night, he received a call from the girl’s phone, and when he visited her house, her family caught him and allegedly started beating him up. He was kept there till Monday morning and allegedly assaulted by her father and grandfather. The girl’s father later called Keran’s father, Dhampal Lal, to inform him of the matter. He was taken to the hospital, where he died during the treatment,” said Senior Superintendent of Police, Tehri, Shweta Choubey.
The postmortem has been completed, and the police are awaiting the report. The father and grandfather have been arrested after an FIR was registered under the sections of murder and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The complaint, registered by the boy’s father, states that around 5 am on Monday, he received a call from his son’s phone. “The caller identified himself and asked me where my son had been all night. I looked for him at home and told the caller he was not there. The man then said that my son and his friend had remained in his custody through the night, and that he and his family had broken their arms and legs. He said that he had killed my son and thrown him into a stream,” alleges the complaint.
The father rushed to the spot and saw his son lying in a severely injured condition. His friend was also injured. “I asked my son what had happened, and he told me that the girl’s father and his family called them to their house around midnight as a conspiracy to kill them. He said that throughout the night, they beat him brutally because he belonged to a Scheduled Caste and continued assaulting him until morning,” the father alleged. According to him, Ketan said that he was beaten with sticks, batons, and an iron rod, and had iron nails pierced into his body.
The complaint said that he recorded a video of the statements and injuries and handed it over to the police administration.
After he was hospitalised, Ketan succumbed to his injuries. “This is an injustice committed against a Scheduled Caste person,” states the complaint.
Police said that the forensic team has been instructed to collect evidence. “We are examining whether the family called the boy to the house as a set-up. We are collecting statements and interrogating the accused,” police said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the boy’s father said they want the rest of the family arrested. “I do not know about the girl or the nature of their relationship,” he said. “It is a case of caste violence. My boy could not even tell me what they had done to him. He was asking for water, and when I insisted, he could barely mouth the words that he had been tortured with a belt and rods. His body bore signs of assault and puncture by nails. We need security from the police; if they could kill my son, they can kill any of us,” the father said.
“I do not know about the girl or the nature of their relationship,” boy's father said, adding, “It is a case of caste violence." (AI generated Photo) 
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