Dalit youth assaulted in Baghpat dies, most villagers who fled yet to return

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But two days after the assault on the 19-year-old and his 16-year-old nephew Manish, villagers said that most Dalit homes that were deserted after the attack remained empty and young women who had been sent away “as precaution” had not yet returned. They also claimed that the attacks followed an order by the village pradhan, Pramod Rana, at a panchayat in the Gujjar-dominated village — a claim that Rana denied.

According to doctors who were treating Akash, the beating left him with a number of injuries, including trauma to the chest and pleural effusion or fluid build-up between the lungs and chest wall. But the most critical, doctors said, was the damage done to his kidneys, and septicaemia that spread through his body.

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A doctor explained, “He had very serious injuries. He was on dialysis because of the damage that had been done to his kidneys — there were clear signs of blunt force trauma. With his kidneys not functioning, the septicaemia spread and we weren’t able to control it as well as we would have wanted to.”

Akash’s family returned to the village with his body, where he was cremated, 700 metres from the spot where he was assaulted. The police deployed personnel in a bid to prevent further flare-ups.

Netu Kumar, a villager, said, “Apart from Akash’s family, who were in Meerut, only a few other people have returned. Most of the homes remain empty.” On a visit to the village on Saturday, The Indian Express found that of the 43 Dalit homes in the village, residents of about 13 have fled fearing further retaliation.