A Dalit man was killed six days after being brutally assaulted for allegedly addressing a teenager from a different caste as “beta” at a shop in Gujarat’s Amreli district.
Nilesh Rathod, a 20-year-old Dalit youth from Jarakhia village in Lathi tehsil of Amreli district, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday at a hospital in Bhavnagar.
According to the FIR filed by 28-year-old Lalji Mansukh Chauhan, who was also assaulted in the May 16 incident, he was with Rathod and others at a bhajiya stall on the Amreli-Savarkundla road when Rathod went to a nearby shop to buy packaged snacks.
Chauhan later went to the shop to check on the situation, where the shopkeeper, Chotha Khoda Bharwad, allegedly attacked him with a stick.
The FIR also names Vijay Anand Tota, who reportedly assaulted both Chauhan and Rathod.
The bhajiya stall owner, Jaga Dudhat, intervened and rescued them, the complaint added.
Later, Rathod’s uncle, Suresh Vala, approached the shop to confront the owner. By then, the shopkeeper had summoned a group of men who attacked Vala and the others with sticks and sickles, hurling casteist slurs.
The complainant further stated that Rathod, Vala, Dudhat, and he tried to flee, but the attackers chased and continued beating them while mocking their caste status and accusing them of “overreaching.”
The assault reportedly stopped only after an elderly man arrived at the scene and urged the attackers to stop.
Initially, the FIR named four accused: Chotha Khoda Bharwad, Vijay Anand Tota, Bhavesh Mundhwa, and Jatin Mundhwa, as these were the individuals the victims could identify.
They were booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 118(1) (grievous hurt), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 189(2) and 189(4) (unlawful assembly, including being armed with deadly weapons), 190 (liability of all members of an unlawful assembly), 191(2) and 191(3) (rioting, including while armed), 131 (assault or criminal force), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 3(5) (joint liability of a criminal act), 109 (attempt to murder), and later, section 103 (murder).
They were also charged under various sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as well as Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act.
So far, nine out of the eleven people involved in the incident have been arrested.
The arrested include Bharwad, Tota, Bhavesh Mundhwa, Jatin Mundhwa, Kathad Arjan Mundhwa, Deva Sanga Mundhwa, Duda Bogha Mundhwa, and Ravi Duda Mundhwa, while police teams continue to search for the remaining two.
Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani sat on a protest on Friday with the family members of the deceased, Nilesh Rathod, and demanded justice.
The MLA from Vadgam Assembly Constituency condemned the incident, stating, “This shows that even today, casteism is deeply rooted in Gujarat. Dalits continue to live in fear and remain unsafe in their own land.”
He criticised the silence of top leaders, adding, “The Prime Minister, who himself hails from Gujarat, has not even expressed his condolences. Meanwhile, the state’s Minister of Social Justice and the Chief Minister have not once visited the grieving family to wipe their tears or offer support.”
“The government’s attitude also appears casteist—Dalits are beaten, discriminated against, denied water from common wells, barred from entering temples, raped and even ‘die cleaning drains.’ And now, a Dalit has been beaten so brutally that it led to his death, yet the government remains silent. This is extremely unfortunate,” he said.
The Congress MLA demanded government jobs or land as compensation for the families of the victims, including those who were injured.
Social Worker Amita Ambedkar reacted to the incident, asking, “Another orgy of casteism. How long will you Dalits continue to be beaten by these goons?”
Girija Shankar Pal, National Vice President of Manas Ekta Foundation, said, “The punishment for simply calling my son ‘son’ — death?”
He asked, “Is this the new India? Where the walls of caste are so high that saying a single word can cost one’s life?”
Pal criticized the silence of authorities, stating, “The Gujarat government is silent. The law keepers are silent. Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, who come from this same land – why are they not answering?” warning, “If casteism is still alive, then the Constitution is dead.”
“Now is the time to stand up, to speak out, and to stand with every voice that stands up against injustice,” he said.
