Ahmedabad: A Dalit youth was brutally murdered by upper caste men belonging to the Kshatriya community for owning and riding a horse.
Pradip Rathod (21) was a resident of Timbi village of Umrala taluka in Bhavnagar district. Three suspects have been detained for questioning, A M Saiyad, Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Bhavnagar SC/ST Cell said.
“We have detained three persons for questioning. We have also acquired some CCTV footage showing Pradip on his horse before his dead body was found. We are probing this case from different angles, including an old rivalry or a love affair” Saiyad was quoted by newsagency PTI.
In his complaint to Umrala police, Pradip’s father, Kalubhai Rathod, claimed that some upper caste Rajput men held a grudge against his son after he bought a horse recently.
He claimed that these men had threatened to kill Pradip if he didn’t sell off the horse.
His complaint stated that Pradip was killed using sharp weapons, his neck was slit, by some Rajput men when he was returning home from his farm on his horse yesterday evening.
Reports say they were upset with Pradip for riding the horse in a nearby school.
One Natubha Darbar of Timbi village and some other unidentified persons have been shown as accused in the FIR, police told PTI.
After taking over the probe from Umrala police, Saiyad on Friday said that three persons had been detained.
Reports say on Saturday emerged of Pradip’s family refusing to cremate mortal remains until the culprits are brought to justice. The situation in his village was said to be tense.
