Written by Saurabh ParasharShimla | October 3, 2025 12:25 AM IST 3 min readThe boy, from Koli community (Schedule Caste) had entered the house of the accused when he didn't find anyone in the shop adjoining it.A forensic team Thursday collected samples from the cowshed where a 12-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly locked up and thrashed by a Rajput woman and two others for “polluting” her house by entering it in village Lambdi in Rohru subdivision of Shimla. The team from State Forensic Laboratory, Junga, also inspected the shop of the accused woman where the minor had gone on September 16.The boy died at Indira Gandhi Medical College & Hospital (IGMC), Shimla on September 17 where he was taken to after he allegedly attempted suicide by consuming some poisonous substance.A police officer said, “The samples of suspected poisonous substance, which was reportedly consumed by the victim as per the allegations of his parents, had already been collected. The accused woman, Pushpa Devi, 57, was present in the house when the FSL team visited it to collect the samples”.The team of forensic experts, accompanied by the local police personnel, spent almost three hours in the village. Sources said the team measured width and height of the window from where the minor had managed to escape from the cowshed.The boy, from Koli community (Schedule Caste) had entered the house of the accused when he didn’t find anyone in the shop adjoining it.Later, Pushpa Devi along with two others had caught and locked him in the cowshed, and made a demand of goat to sacrifice for a local deity to “purify” the house, which she said had been polluted by the boy. Shimla police had initially registered an FIR under the charges of abetment to suicide on September 20, the charges of Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act were added on September 26, a day after accused Pushpa Devi secured interim bail from the Himachal Pradesh High Court.The Himachal Pradesh State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned the incident and extended solidarity with the bereaved family.Story continues below this adSanjay Chauhan, state secretary of CPI(M), said, “Such incidents of caste-based discrimination cannot be justified in any form, especially in a literate state like Himachal Pradesh. The party has demanded strict action against the culprits under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. A party delegation will soon meet the victim’s family and verify the facts on the ground.”Warning of an agitation, Chuhan said, “If the state government fails to take immediate action on this grave issue, the party will stage protests across the state on October 6 against this incident of Dalit oppression. The deceased child belonged to a poor Dalit family, and denying him justice goes against the very spirit of social justice enshrined in our Constitution. It is the duty of the government to curb atrocities against Dalits and uphold social justice. The government must also take concrete measures to sensitise society to prevent such incidents.” Saurabh Parashar is a journalist with The Indian Express, where he primarily covers developments in Himachal Pradesh. He has been associated with The Indian Express since 2017 and has earlier worked with The Times of India. He has 17 year + experience in the field of print journalism. An alumnus of Government College for Men, Sector 11, (Panjab University), Chandigarh, Saurabh holds a Diploma in Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Chandigarh. He pursued his Master’s in Mass Communication from Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar. In addition, he completed his law degree from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Shimla