A Dalit youth was beaten to death by upper-caste Hindu men wielding sticks and daggers in the Bondhar Haveli village of Maharashtra’s Nanded district on Thursday, 1 June.
The slain, who was a Buddhist youth, was identified as Akshay Bhalerao, Dalit Desk reported.
The incident occurred when Akshay and his brother Akash were confronted by the assailants during a wedding procession.
The incident occurred when Akshay and Akash went to a local grocery store in Bondhar Haveli village in the evening. At that time, a wedding procession for a Maratha bridegroom was passing by on the main road, with some men in the procession wielding swords, sticks, and daggers. When the brothers encountered the group, they were allegedly subjected to derogatory remarks based on their caste and were targeted because they were celebrating Bhim Jayanti, as stated in the First Information Report (FIR) filed by Akash.
According to the FIR, the attackers physically assaulted Akshay by kicking, punching, and hitting him with sticks. The situation escalated when one of the assailants repeatedly stabbed him with a dagger, while others held his limbs, leading to his immediate death. Akash and their mother, who arrived at the scene upon hearing about the incident, were also attacked and sustained injuries.
A case has been registered by the police under appropriate sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Indian Penal Code, which includes charges of murder and assault.
Seven individuals have been arrested as of now, and the authorities are actively conducting an investigation to ensure that justice is delivered.
