The accused allegedly made casteist comments against the Dalit man for dancing in the Tamasha programme at Kopardi village and later assaulted him after forcing him to strip. Two accused have been arrested, the police said
Kopardi village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district remained tense on Friday after a Dalit man died by suicide on Thursday afternoon, allegedly after he was stripped and assaulted by several upper caste men for dancing in a Tamasha (a popular folk art form) programme in the village.
With the deceased, Vitthal alias Nitin Kantilal Shinde (37), belonging to the Hindu Mahar Dalit community, and the alleged accused hailing from the upper caste Maratha community, a huge police force has been deployed in Kopardi to prevent any law and order situation.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Vivekanand Wakhare said that two accused have been arrested and a search is on for the third accused.
According to the first information report (FIR) lodged by Vitthal’s father Kantilal (60) at Karjat police station, Vitthal went to attend the tamasha programme in Kopardi village on the night of May 1. Around 11.30 pm, the three accused, Banti Babasaheb Sudrik, Swapnil Baban Sudrik and Vaibhav Madhukar Sudrik allegedly made casteist comments against Vitthal and assaulted him for dancing in the programme. Then, they allegedly took Vitthal to a cremation ground where they forced him to strip and assaulted him while he was naked, the FIR stated.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.