A man belonging to Dalit community was tied to a pole and beaten to death by factory workers on the suspicion of theft in Rajkot.
The deceased identified as Mukesh Savji Vaniya was a ragpicker. The incident occurred on Sunday, when the deceased, his wife and an acquaintance were picking waste around Radadiya Factory in Shapar-Veraval area of Rajkot.
The trio got into an argument with some factory men. Later, the argument turned violent and Vaniya was beaten to death.
Shapar-Veraval police station officials said that after beating Vaniya, Radadiya Factory workers called his wife and asked her to take him away. His wife took him to a Rajkot Civil Hospital, where he died during his treatment.
The exact reason for the altercation is being ascertained by the police.
The police have registered an offence of murder and other charges against five unidentified persons under the Indian Penal Code and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act following a complaint lodged by the victim’s wife.
As per media reports, five men have been detained by the police.
The video of the incident has gone viral on social media and was shared on Twitter by Vadgam MLA and Dalit rights activist Jignesh Mevani. In the video, Vaniya can be seen tied to a pole with some men taking turns to beat him.
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‘Mr. Mukesh Vaniya belonging to a scheduled caste was miserably thrashed and murdered by factory owners in Rajkot and his wife was brutally beaten up’.#GujaratIsNotSafe4Dalit pic.twitter.com/ffJfn7rNSc
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) May 20, 2018