(Samaj Weekly)
London, 4th April 2023– A man has been given 18 weeks custodial sentence after posting casteist offensive message on social media.
He was arrested following a Thames Valley Police investigation and was charged with an offence contrary to section 127(1)(a) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003 for sending an offensive/indecent/obscene/menacing message/matter.
Mr Amrik Singh Bajwa posted the grossly offensive message on Tik Tok on 19 July last year. The post deliberately targeted the so called ‘Chamaar’ and ‘Choohra’ communities [described as Dalit] hurling sexual abuse, obscenities with threats of rape. In the Tik Tok message, Mr Bajwa also glorified the so-called ‘Jat’ community for sexually abusing Dalit women in Indian villages as a matter of pride.
Members of Bhagwan Valmik Sabha, Southall, Shri Guru Ravidas Sabha (UK and Europe), Shri Guru Ravidas Sabha, Gravesend, Sikh Federation were present outside Slough Magistrates Court during the court proceedings.
This matter first went to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision but was subsequently escalated to the Attorney General for a final decision. It is perhaps the first case of its kind in the UK where Caste based slurs and sexual hate speech has been prosecuted.
A spokesperson for Caste Watch UK said ‘It was criminally reckless for Mr Amrik Singh Bajwa to post this casteist material online for others to view. It shows the contempt of one caste group for another caste group, a practice familiar in countries like India and shows signs of replication in Britain. His criminal conviction will send a strong message that such caste hate speech and abuse will not be tolerated in Britain’.
