The state of Maharashtra has witnessed some gruesome incidents in the past month beginning in May. Several incidents of violence, abduction and assault were recently reported from the Ahmednagar, Samnapur, Parbhani and Kolhapur regions of the state which has sent shockwaves across Maharashtra and has also disturbed the law and order to some extent. Amid all this, one of the incidents from Nanded that has attempted to further the existent caste issue in the entire state is that of the murder of a Dalit youngster identified as Akshay Bhalerao.
22-year-old Akshay Bhalerao was murdered by a group of people in Bondhar Haveli village on Thursday, June 1 after which the Police booked around 9 persons under the Atrocity Act and arrested 7 of them. As per sources, two of the accused persons are absconding and the police have sent teams across to nab the accused.
As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the accused persons have been identified as Santosh Tidke, Datta Tidke, Krushna Tidke, Nilkanth Tidke, Narayan Tidke, Shivaji Tidke, Mahadu Tidke, Baburao Sonaji Tidke and Balaji Mungal. All the accused who are believed to be belonging to the Maratha community have been booked under sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 302, 307, 324, 323, 294, 504 of the Indian Penal Code, sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act and sections 4, 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, 1959.
Akshay murdered for organizing Ambedkar Jayanti, alleges brother Akash
Reportedly, the police happened to book FIR in the case based on the complaint of the victim’s brother Akash who alleged that the people from the Maratha community abused and killed his brother for organizing Ambedkar Jayanti in the village. He also mentioned in the complaint that all the accused were carrying weapons and could be heard saying, “You want to carry out Bheem Jayanti procession in the village? Today we’ll not spare you.” After this, as per Akash, the accused persons stabbed the victim in his stomach and tore it apart.
The brother of the victim also said that he and his mother were also assaulted and hit by the accused after they made an attempt to save Akshay during the attack.
Long standing dispute, deceased had allegedly attacked during the Durga visarjan event, 2022
Digging deeper into the case it was discovered that the village where this incident happened, majorly houses these two communities- Maratha and Dalits and that these two have been facing tensions living together for the past two years. Sources revealed to OpIndia that the deceased person was looked upon as a goon and also had allegedly launched an attack on the community during the Durga Visarjan event in the year 2022.
The videos of this attack have been going viral after Akshay’s murder in which he can be seen flaunting a sharp knife-like weapon. One of the other persons meanwhile is also seen controlling enraged Akshay from launching an attack on the people gathered for the Durga Visarjan event. These videos have been going viral over the web and so have also been obtained by OpIndia.
Locals also stated that the scuffle between the two communities is long-standing and that people in the past have launched several complaints against Akshay. Complaints have also been launched against a few persons from the Maratha community. But no action was taken by the police back then. “The issues were quite minor and internal. So maybe no action was taken. But the matter now is gaining attention after this recent murder,” a source confirmed.
On the day of the murder, the accused persons were dancing on a DJ in a wedding procession of Narayan Tidke who has also been named in the FIR. The procession was reportedly passing through a lane which divides the communities into two geographical localities, one each for Dalits and Marathas. As per the FIR, Akshay and his brother were buying grocery items in the same lane when the accused abused and murdered the victim.
Police confirm 7 of 9 accused arrested, teams sent to nab 2
While Akshay’s brother claimed in the FIR that his brother was murdered because he played a major role in organizing Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Jayanti in the village, the Police has stated that a minor scuffle occurred between the victim and the accused after which the victim was attacked during the wedding procession by 9 persons. “7 of these have been arrested. Two are absconding,” Police said.
Dalit organizations stand by victim’s family; seek investigation
The victim’s family has meanwhile garnered support from various Dalit organizations like the Dalit Panther and the RPI who have demanded strictest action against the accused. Rahul Pradhan of the Dalit Panther while talking to the media on this issue condemned the murder and said that the boy was murdered only for organizing the Ambedkar Jayanti.
“Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Jayanti was not organized in the village since India’s independence. It is Akshay who took initiative to gather all the Dalits in the village and strived to organize the procession. He was an active member. It is out of anger that the other community persons have attacked him like this,” Pradhan said.
Also, Sachin Kharat of RPI extended support to the victim’s family and slammed the government for delaying action in this case. He further alleged that one of the members of the Shivsena (Shinde squad) was involved in the case and demanded imposition of Atrocity act on the member.
“I am going to meet Maharashtra CM and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis for this case tomorrow and I am going to demand strictest action against the accused. Shivsena’s district president from Shinde squad is said to be involved in this case. If this is true, he should immediately be relieved from his post and booked under Atrocity Act,” Kharat added.
One of the accused arrested from Congress MLA’s office, sources confirm
However, Prakash Ambedkar, the President of Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi has demanded inquiry of several Congress leaders suspecting their involvement in the matter. “Some of the important leaders of the Congress party are said to be involved in the case. Their names have also been released in a local news outlet, Matrubhumi. The SP and the Collector must look into the case immediately and launch an inquiry into the matter. If a few political parties are going support the culprits, its unacceptable,” he said.
This is probably after name of Congress leader Mohan Hambarde has appeared in the case. Mohan Marotrao Hambarde is a member of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and he represents Nanded South. According to the sources, one of the 7 arrested accused persons was arrested from the office of the congress MLA. Ambedkar further added that the Congress party should suspend its members or the MLAs who are trying to support and save the culprits.
Deliberate color of casteism, one wrongful arrest: Sakal Maratha Community
Recently, on June 9, the Sakal Maratha Community addressed a Press conference to reveal that one of the accused named Narayan Tidke has been wrongfully arrested and that he should be released with immediate effect. “It was his wedding and so as per the Maratha culture he was carrying a sword during the wedding procession. He should be released and the real culprits should be punished instead,” the members said.
The community meanwhile strongly condemned the murder and stated that a deliberate color of casteism was being given to the case, even after the police has taken swift action and arrested the accused persons. The members of the community also added that due to action of a few members, the entire community is being defamed across the state.
“Some people are deliberately adding the color of casteism in the case. This is all happening for votes. Now they’ve known that creating a divide in the society is going to polarize the votes and many be help them in the upcoming elections. We condemn the murder of course, but giving it a political angle is not acceptable. Poeple shall maintain peace and ignore to some socio-political organizations who are trying to create divide in the society,” the community appealed in the conference.
The Sakal Maratha Community who meanwhile, failed to address even a probable reason why Bhalerao according to them was murdered, has demanded CBI inquiry into the case. “The CBI shall investigate the case. Only then people will attain answers to several of their queries like whether there was a long standing quarrel, why was he murdered, so on and so forth. Maratha community have always had patience and have always worked for the betterment of the Dalits. We appeal to stop creating divide on this issue,” the members said.
Government Financial Assistance reaches victim’s family
After this incident, many people in the state have come to fore extending support to the deceased’s family as he belonged to the Dalit community and given that Akash Bhalerao in the complaint mentioned that his brother was killed for organizing Bheem Jayanti in the village. While some left leaning media channels like the Wire are claiming that CM Shinde and his faction is supporting the Marathas in this regard, the government led by CM Eknath Shinde has issued financial assistance of Rs 4,12,500 from its social welfare department on June 6 and has assured that the second phase of financial assistance will be given after filing the charge sheet. Also, the CPI(M) Maharashtra State Committee handed over the cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the deceased’s family.
Further, it is being claimed that the deceased person was preparing for civil service examinations and that he aimed to become a police officer. Given this his family and the community members are demanding a well-paid job for the brother of the deceased in addition to financial assistance, the first phase of which has already been issued to the family.
In the current case, 7 out of 9 accused persons including the groom have already been arrested. The police have launched a manhunt to nab the other two accused who are absconding at present. Interrogation, strict action is being conducted against the arrested accused. Financial assistance has reached the deceased’s family.