Days after a Dalit teenager was found dead in Bhiwadi town of Rajasthan’s Alwar district, his family has claimed that he was burnt to death. This is the second Dalit teenager who has died in the town in the span of a week. Ajay Jatav’s family has alleged that he was killed on March 5 because he witnessed the murder of his friend Neeraj Jatav, who was beaten to death on Holi, March 2.
“Family members have claimed that unidentified persons burnt him [Ajay Jatav] alive after clashes that took place in Bhiwadi on March 3,” Additional Superintendent of Police Pushpendra Solanki was quoted as saying by NDTV on Wednesday. “Preliminary investigation has indicated that the victim was not present [at] the spot of the clashes.
The police have filed a case of murder against eight people for murdering Ajay Jatav but there have been no arrests yet. Though the family alleged that Jatav was murdered, other members of the community claimed he committed suicide, Solanki said, adding that the police were “investigating all the angles”.
“They beat him with sticks and bricks before tying his hands and feet and pouring petrol on him,” Jatav’s brother Harikishan Jatav told the police. “My brother was an eyewitness to what happened to his friend Neeraj and had also tried to save him. That’s why he was burned alive by men from the Gurjar community,” Harikishan was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “We also suspect the involvement of a local councillor’s husband Dharamveer Jatav because I had seen him distribute money to Gurjars.”
Ajay Jatav’s charred body was found around 250 metres away from the spot where Neeraj Jatav was beaten to death.
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