Vijayapura, July 20 (TIWN) A 32-year-old Dalit man was allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of 13 youth in Karnataka's Vijayapura for reportedly touching a motorbike of an upper caste owner, police said on Monday.

The Dalit man reached a nearby police station to file a complaint after he was beaten with his family on Saturday. The incident took place in a village, about 530 km from state capital Bengaluru.

"An atrocity case was reported in Talikote on Saturday about assault on the Dalit man from Minaji village. It was alleged that when he accidentally touched the bike of a man who belonged to the upper caste, he and his family members were assaulted by around 13 men," said senior police officer Anupam Aggarwal.

Thirteen people were named in the police complaint filed over the assault; some of them were later called for questioning. The case was registered under SC/ST Act and sections 143,147, 324, 354, 504, 506, 149 of Indian Penal Code (IPC).