A group of “upper caste men” allegedly killed a 21-year-old Dalit man for attending a garba event in Gujarat’s Anand district on Sunday morning, PTI reported. The victim, Jayesh Solanki, and three others had gone to participate in the Navaratri festivities near the local temple in Bhadrania village, when the accused made “derogatory remarks” about their caste, police said.
The main accused allegedly said that Dalits “do not have any right to watch garba,” and made other casteist remarks. He then called a few other people to attack Solanki’s group, PTI quoted the police as saying. Solanki was rushed to a hospital but doctors said he was brought dead.
“Jayesh Solanki was killed in the heat of the moment, as there was no rivalry between him and the accused,” Deputy Superintendent of Police (Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe cell) AM Patel said. “We are probing the case from all angles.”
A member of the Patel community, Sanjay Patel, is believed to have verbally abused Solanki. The other accused have been identified as Chintan Patel, Jignesh Patel, Rutvik Patel, Vickey Patel, Dhaval Patel, Ripen Patel and Dipesh Patel, all residents of the same village. An FIR has been registered against the eight men, who have been arrested, The Indian Express reported.
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