New Delhi: A 21-year-old Dalit was reportedly lynched to death in Gujarat’s Anand district on October 1 by people from the upper-caste Patel community. His fault: He watched a performance of garba dance.
Eight accused have been arrested, the police have said.
Jayesh Solanki, his cousin Prakash Solanki and two other Dalit men were sitting near a house adjacent to a temple in Bhadrania village when a person made “derogatory remarks about their caste,” the police said, quoting a complaint filed in connection with the incident.
The accused said Dalits do not have any right to watch garba. He also made casteist remarks and asked some men to come to the spot, an officer at the Bhadran police station said. The upper caste men allegedly thrashed the Dalits and banged Jayesh’s head against a wall, the officer said.
Jayesh was rushed to a hospital in Karamsad, where doctors declared him brought dead, report agencies.
Garba is a form of dance that originated in Gujarat state. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term Garbha (“womb”) and Deep (“a small earthenware lamp”). The dance is performed around a centrally lit lamp or a picture or statue of the Goddess Shakti. Traditionally, it is performed during the nine-day Hindu festival Navarātrī.
A.M. Patel, a police official dealing with affairs of Dalit and tribal communities, said they have registered a case against eight men under Indian Penal Code sections dealing with murder and prevention of atrocities act.
According to him, “Jayesh was killed in the heat of the moment, as there was no rivalry between him and the accused. We are probing the case from all angles,” Patel added.
According to the Indian Express, the man who started abusing the group of Dalit youth was Sanjay Patel. He was joined by Chintan Patel, Jignesh Patel, Rutvik Patel, Vickey Patel, Dhaval Patel, Ripen Patel and Dipesh Patel, all residents of Bhadraniya village in beating up the Dalits.
The Anand incident comes days after two Dalit men of a village near Gandhinagar were allegedly thrashed, in separate incidents on September 25 and 29, by members of the Rajput community, for sporting a mustache.