RAJKOT: A young Dalit man was brutally bludgeoned to death, allegedly by members of upper caste, who were enraged at him for riding a horse in a village of
Bhavnagar district on Thursday.
Pradeep Rathod, 21, was beaten to death by a group of people from the Darbar community in Timbi village of Umrala taluka. Pradeep had been receiving threats from the local Darbar men ever since he started horse riding about a fortnight ago. But he brushed aside all the threats and continued to ride the horse in the village.
On Thursday, Pradeep had gone on the horse to his farm. However, his family got suspicious when the horse returned without him. “On searching, I found his body lying in a pool of blood near the farm; his head was badly smashed,” Rathod, 50, said in his complaint lodged at Umrala police station.
Though his father alleged that horse riding was the main reason behind his murder, police are investigating various angles such as love affair. It is not yet known how many people were involved in killing him.
However, police have detained one suspect based on Rathod’s complaint.
“We have detained Natubha Darbar, a resident of Timbi, as a suspect in the crime. Also, a person from Darbar community from Piparali village of Umrala taluka has been named as one of the suspects in the case,” said A M Saiyyed, deputy superintendent of police, ST/SC cell of Bhavnagar police.
Meanwhile, the family members of Pradeep have refused to accept his body till all the accused are arrested in the case.
Feudal mindset still exists in rural parts of
Gujarat, especially
Saurashtra, where upper castes don’t take kindly to those from lower sections riding horses.
