The Haryana Police on Monday detained two people for allegedly beating up a Dalit man at Bajana Kalan village in Sonipat district. The incident happened a month ago, according to NDTV.

Some reports had claimed that the man was beaten up as part of a punishment because he had washed his cattle in a waterbody used by so-called upper caste communities. The police, however, dismissed this. They claimed that two residents of the village, Mohit and Jitendra, beat the victim up because he had refused to work on their farm.

The police registered a case and formed a Special Investigation Team on Monday, nearly 15 days after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The police claimed that the delay in launching an investigation was because they had not received a complaint or seen a video till then.

“But the father of the victim came to us today [Monday] and registered a complaint,” Sonepat Superintendent of Police Arpit Jain told NDTV. “He did not give reasons for the delay in informing us. Apparently, the victim got into a dispute with the two accused after they tried to force him into working on their farm. The victim is currently in Delhi and we are waiting for him to return.”

“When my son refused [to work in the field], they held him captive for around four hours in a room near their property,” the complaint filed at the Gannaur police station said. “Mohit and Jitendra told him to remove his clothes, following which they assaulted him while recording the incident on their mobile phone. He was warned of dire consequences if he shared his ordeal with others. Fearing further attacks from the two, my son has been staying in Delhi for the last 20 days.”