Dalit youth killed for ‘talking to upper caste girl’ in Pune

Two of the accused have been arrested, while the third, a minor, has been detained.

A 17-year-old dalit boy from a farmer’s family in Nagar district was brutally beaten up and then strangled to death allegedly by three persons who saw him talking to the sister of one of them, police said on Tuesday. The body of Nitin Raju Aage was later hung to a tree in the village.

While two of the accused have been arrested, the third accomplice, a minor, has been detained.

According to the Nagar district police, the incident took place on Monday morning in Kharda village of Jamkhed tehsil. Nitin, who had recently completed Class XI, had come to Kharda to attend coaching classes for HSC.

Police said Sachin Golekar (21), his uncle Sheshrao Yeole (42) and the minor boy saw Nitin talking to Golekar’s sister on Monday morning. Some time later, said the police, the three attacked him on the premises of a school with a wooden stick. They allegedly took him to a brick kiln in the outskirts of the village and thrashed him again, before taking him to a secluded place near a farm and strangling him to death. The three hung his body to a tree around 3 pm, said the police.

Some villagers spotted the body and informer Nitin’s father, who had by then started searching for him. Deputy Superintendent of Police Dheeraj Patil told The Indian Express over phone: “The three attacked Nitin as they saw him talking to Golekar’s sister. The deceased boy is from a Dalit community while the three suspects belong to an upper caste. The post-mortem has shown that the death occurred due to strangulation. Also, there are marks of severe injuries on the body.”

According to the police, Golekar’s family owns brick kilns and garment shops in Kharda. A case has been registered on the complaint of Nitin’s father.

Patil said: “The three suspects have been booked for murder and under sections of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. The two arrested persons have been remanded in police custody.”

Police said a probe was on to find out if more people were involved in the case.