Dalit man killed, 7 held; brother says attacked for Bhim Jayanti celebration

The police identified the deceased as Akshay Bhalerao, who lived with his family at the village.

His elder brother Aakash, in his statement to the police, said, “A person named Narayan Tidke, who belongs to the Maratha community, had got married. A group of people was celebrating on the road (on Thursday evening). They were dancing with swords, daggers and sticks in their hands.”

At around 7.30 pm on Thursday, when Aakash and Akshay went to a shop to buy groceries, the group allegedly started passing comments against them, the statement alleged.

“One of them said that ‘these people should be killed for celebrating Bhim Jayanti in the village’,” the statement states.
“The group then started beating my brother. They assaulted my brother with sticks. At one point, they held my brother’s hands and legs, then two of the accused stabbed him in his stomach,” Aakash said in his complaint.

When the complainant tried to intervene, they allegedly stabbed him too. “Aakash also sustained injuries on his left hand. Their mother who tried to save them was also injured in the attack as the accused started pelting stones on them,” their elder brother Sandesh said.
“I rushed Akshay to a nearby hospital in a rickshaw but he had stopped breathing on the way,” Aakash said in his complaint.
The police said that Akshay was declared dead before he could be admitted to hospital.

An officer from Nanded Rural police station said that the preliminary probe indicates caste conflict led to the murder.

“In April for the first time an Ambedkar Jayanti procession was taken out in the village. Security was also provided to maintain law and order but they were not allowed to play music on the streets. However, on Wednesday evening, people from another community were celebrating during a marriage ceremony in which they played music over which we believe there was a scuffle between them,” he said.

The Nanded police on Friday registered a case of murder, attempt to murder, rioting and assault under Indian Penal Code sections. Sections 3 (1) (R), 3 (1) (S), 3 (2) (VA) of Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and sections 4, 25 and 27 of Arms Act have also been added in the FIR.