Five people were arrested after a 42-year-old man was beaten to death by a group of persons in a Mehsana village for allegedly playing loudspeaker at a temple. Jashwant Thakor, a daily wage labourer from Mudarda village in Langhnaj of Mehsana, was killed at his residence on May 3 night. However, the Mehsana police maintained that both accused and deceased belonged to the same community and shared an old rivalry. They added that the complaint over playing loudspeaker from a temple was only a pretext to the incident on May 3. The murder occurred around 7 pm on May 3 when the victim and his elder brother Ajitji Thakor (46) started playing devotional songs on a loudspeaker installed in a small temple built inside their house in Mudarda village, police said. “A few minutes after we started playing the songs on the loudspeaker, Sadaji Thakor from our village came to our house and questioned us as to why we were playing it. When I told him that the speaker is playing low and the puja of Meldi Mata is going on, he got instigated and started assaulting us. Later five more persons, including his brothers, joined him and entered our house and started beating us with wooden sticks," said Ajitji in his police complaint. Jashwant got unconscious after he was hit on his head. "I asked one of my neighbours to inform the police after which my brother and I were taken in an ambulance to Mehsana Civil Hospital for injuries. Doctors declared my brother dead,” the complaint read. Taking cognisance, the police have booked six accused—Sadaji Thakor, Vishnuji Thakor, Jayantiji Thakor, Babuji Thakor, Jawanji Thakor and Veenuji Thakor—all residents of Mudarda village.
