Hyderabad, May 3 -- A 17-year-old Dalit boy was brutally beaten and tied to a tree overnight by upper caste men near Thenkaraikottai village in Tamil Nadu's Dharmapuri district.

Tharun had worked at his attacker, Ramakrishnan's, paddy threshing unit for six days before quitting to work with a relative.

Ramakrishnan reportedly spoke badly about Tharun to his uncle. This led to a confrontation.

On April 30, Tharun and his friend were passing through Thenkaraikottai village when he spotted Ramakrishna and questioned him about his bad mouthing.

Ramakrishnan invited them to his petrol pump, where both the boys were attacked. Although his friend escaped, Tharun was tied to a tree and beaten for several hours with bamboo sticks, iron rods, a...