A 24-year-old Dalit man was beaten and stabbed to death by a group of people belonging to the upper caste Maratha community in the Bondhar village of Mahrasthra’s Nanded district. Seven accused have been arrested in connection with the murder.
The incident occurred on June 1. The deceased has been identified as Akshay Bhaleroa.
As per the First Information Report (FIR) on the basis of the complaint filed by the victim’s brother Akash, the incident took place in the evening when the brothers went to a local grocery store.
A wedding procession from the Maratha community was passing by. Some of the men in the procession carried swords, sticks and daggers.
On noticing Akshay and his brother, a few of them allegedly started abusing and said, “These two should be killed for celebrating Bhim Jayanti (the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar which falls on April 14) in the village.”
This enraged Akshay which led to an argument between the two parties and soon snowballed into a physical fight.
The FIR states that Akshay was beaten, punched and kicked. The men held his hand and legs and then stabbed him in his stomach.
Akash and his mother rushed to rescue Akshay but received injuries. The men fled from the spot.
Akash rushed a profusely bleeding Akshay to the hospital where he was declared dead by the doctors.
The police have registered a case under the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as well as murder, attempt to murder, rioting and assault.
The seven accused have been identified as – Santosh Tidke, Datta Tidke, Krishna Tidke, Nilkanth Tidke, Narayan Tidke, Shivaji Tidke, Mahadu Tidke, Baburao Tidke and Balaji Mungal as the accused.
According to an article by The Quint, Bondhar village has more than 30% SC population.
Ambedkar Jayanthi, which falls on April 14, was celebrated in the village after 45 years. However, the police had not issued any permits to play songs.
President of Yuva Panther Rahul Pradhan told The Quint that people from the Maratha community did not favour the procession.
“Akshay was at the forefront of the Bhim Jayanti arrangements and that’s why he was targetted,” The Quint quoted Rahul, adding Akshay was a practising Buddhist.
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