Patna, July 23: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has sent a notice to the state government seeking a report on the abuse and assault of two Dalit youths in Muzaffarpur district.

Commission officials told The Telegraph today the incident was of serious nature and it would act on the basis of the report the state government sends. Several attempts to contact commission chairman P.L. Punia failed, but his officer on special duty (OSD) Jagjeet Singh spoke on his behalf. "The commission has taken the incident seriously. It looks shocking. A report has been sought," Jagjeet said.

"The commission will take a call on action to be taken after the state government sends a detailed report."

Rajeev Paswan (18) and his brother-in-law Munna Paswan (23) were travelling by motorcycle at Babu Tola, home to mostly upper caste Bhumihars in Paru, on Wednesday when some men led by Mukesh Thakur stopped them.

As per the FIR lodged by Rajeev's mother Sunita Devi, the two were thrashed. Besides, Mukesh and 11 others allegedly urinated on them. Sunita and her husband, residents of neighbouring Mathiya Tola, another Dalit-majority colony in Paru, were also abused and threatened when they came and pleaded with Mukesh to release the duo.

The two were detained on suspicion that they were bike thieves. A bike of the same colour was stolen recently. Mukesh, main accused in the assault, is absconding. His wife Vibha Devi is the newly elected mukhiya of Uttari (northern) Paru panchayat, 90km north of Patna. The police today claimed two other accused, Munchun Thakur and Suman Thakur, both residents of Babu Tola, had been arrested while the search for others was on.

"All of them have been booked under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act," Paru police station house officer Captain Shahnawaz said.

BJP state spokesperson Binod Narayan Jha said the party would soon send its team to the district to look into the matter. HAMS chief and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said Dalits were being tortured in Bihar.

"Nitish is more concerned about Gujarat than his own state where Dalits are being tortured. He should concentrate on Bihar," Manjhi said. The BJP's national spokesperson, Shahnawaz Hussain, had said the same thing.

Janadhikar Party (Loktantrik) president Pappu Yadav, who met some of the victims today, said there was a conspiracy by the Nitish government to wipe out Dalit existence and identity in Bihar.