New Delhi: Tensions are high in a village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district after a man from the Paradhi tribe was assaulted and killed, allegedly by upper-caste Maratha men. Some groups have reportedly called for a bandh after the death.
According to the Indian Express, the attack occurred on October 29 in Kharda village, Jamkhed taluka. Forty-year-old Balu Bajrang Pawar was allegedly stoned by members of the Maratha community because of a financial dispute.
One of Pawar’s relatives lodged a murder complaint with the police, and five people – all Marathas – have been charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 302, 34, 506 and 504 and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
In 2014, a 17-year-old Dalit boy, Nitin Aagey, was murdered in the same village. All the accused were acquitted in 2017 after important witnesses turned hostile.