By TEJAS HARAD
In a brutal attack with sticks and daggers, a group of men killed a Dalit youth named Akshay Bhalerao on Thursday, 1 June in Bondhar Haveli village in Maharashtra’s Nanded district.
A First Information Report was filed in the incident at the Nanded Rural police station on the complaint of Akshay’s elder brother Akash.
When Akshay and Akash had gone to a grocery store in the village in the evening, a group of men charged at Akshay hurling casteist abuses, the complaint notes. The men were part of a wedding procession (baraat) of a Maratha bridegroom that was passing through the main road. Along with shouting and dancing on DJ music, some of the men in the baraat were also brandishing swords, sticks and daggers, the FIR states.
According to the FIR, one of the accused, when he spotted Akshay and Akash at the grocery store, started hurling casteist abuses at them and yelled, “These two must be killed, you dare to celebrate Bhim Jayanti?”
After this, the group started kicking and punching Akshay and beating him with sticks. Later, one of them repeatedly attacked him with a dagger as others held his hands and legs, leading to his instant death, the complaint states.
They later beat Akash too as well as their mother who had reached the spot after hearing about the incident. They have sustained injuries.
The police have registered a case under sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 302, 307, 324, 323, 294, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 4, 25 and 27 of the Arms Act…
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here