Lucknow, Aug 21 - A leader of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has been booked for allegedly beating a 45-year-old Dalit labourer and making objectionable remarks about him in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Friday.

BSP leader Mukteshwar Singh was booked under the SC/ST (Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes) Act Thursday after he made caste-based comments against Kailash Ram, who had raised objections to alleged anomalies in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

BSP champions the cause of Dalits.

'Ram has accused the local BSP leader and the Jamalpur village head of committing financial irregularities under the NREGS,' police Inspector Umesh Chandra Pandey told IANS.

'In his compliant, Ram has alleged that Singh and his aides Thursday barged inside his house and beat him with iron rods and wooden sticks. The assailants also threatened Ram that he would face dire consequences if he reports to the police,' he added.

Police are yet to arrest Singh, who is absconding.

Ballia is about 350 km from state capital Lucknow.