A 20-year-old Dalit man was hacked to death by the family members of an upper caste girl he was in a relationship with. Viraj Vilas Jagtap was abused and also spat on as he lay bleeding on the road.
20-year-old Dalit youth in his dying statement has narrated the brutality he faced at the hands of 6 men which led to his death. Viraj Vilas Jagtap was riding his motorbike when the relatives of his girlfriend hit him with a tempo. As he fell down and struggled to get up, the culprits came up to him and attacked him with rods and smashed him with huge stones.
The deceased Dalit youth narrated the entire incident to his family while he was being treated at a private hospital. Before he could call for help while lying on the road, the accused attacked him with iron rods and mercilessly smashed him with stones.
Pimpri Chinchwad Police has arrested all the six Viraj Jagtap named in his dying statement. Two among the six accused are minors and have been sent to a children’s remand home.
All six were produced in the court and have been remanded to police custody for 7 days. All of the six have been arrested under IPC section 302 (murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence). All of the six have also been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Deceased Viraj Jagtap’s elder brother Sagar Jagtap said that on the night of June 7, around 9 pm, Viraj got a phone call from the girl’s family and he was asked to come to their residence for some discussion about their relationship. And while he was at her residence, the family of the girl abused him with foul language and also made derogatory remarks on his caste. As Viraj left their residence, he was attacked from behind with iron rods and stones.
Vrushally Jagtap told India Today said that her nephew Viraj was a humble and caring person and he was having an affair with a girl. “My nephew was first hit by a speeding tempo and then attacked with iron rods and he was smashed with stones. The culprits should be severely punished at the earliest. I am unable to explain the brutality caused by the accused on my innocent nephew, those who are responsible for this heinous crime should be hanged so that people think twice before causing atrocious acts and honour killing cases are not repeated,” she said.
ACP Shridhar Jadhav said that an FIR has been registered. As per the statement the girl’s father, Jagdish Kate, spitted on Viraj Jagtap’s face while he was lying on the road in a badly injured state.
In his last statement, Viraj said he was pleading for mercy but Jagdish Murlidhar Kate was in no mood to listen. He shouted at Viraj that he belonged to the Scheduled Caste and Jagdish Kate said, “How did you dare to have a relationship with my daughter. You belong to mahar maang community, you don’t have the standard or class to have an affair with my daughter.”
As per the FIR, while the girl’s father kept on abusing Viraj with foul language about his lower caste, the other accused continued attacking him with rods and stones.
Courtesy IndiaToday
