A 16-year-old Dalit boy was beaten to death while celebrating Holi in Bhiwadi town of Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Friday. The police identified the victim as Neeraj Jatav and said he was celebrating with other people from his community around 3 pm when he was attacked.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that two groups were [celebrating] Holi and a dispute arose over applying colour,” Bhiwadi Additional SP Pushpendra Singh Solanki said, according to The Indian Express. “Most of the people were intoxicated when the incident took place.”
“We heard reports that someone wanted to apply colours to others against their wish, which could have started the dispute,” he said. “Preliminary investigation suggests the accused, also in the similar age group, were known to Jatav.”
Jatav, who was grievously injured, was declared dead on arrival at the Bhiwadi Health Centre, the police said. The police have filed a case against the accused. “The exact cause of death will be ascertained after a postmortem [examination], but family members said Jatav was assaulted with sticks,” Solanki said.
Meanwhile, Jatav’s family members vandalised the hospital after it declared him dead. They also demanded immediate police action, PTI reported.
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