A Muslim boy in Gujarat’s Bharuch district was allegedly beaten to death for being in a relationship with a tribal girl. According to a report in The Indian Express, the 18-year-old victim was beaten by the relatives of the girl on Thursday and succumbed to injuries next day.
Police told the daily that the incident took place in Jhagadia taluka. Police said that officials on Friday afternoon rounded up four accused who have been identified as Ajay Vasava, Vijay Vasava, Akshay Vasava and Dinesh Vasava, all residents of Boridra village.
Police said that the 18-year-old youth was a resident of Dharoli village. He was in relationship with a girl from the neighbouring Boridra village. The girl’s parents and her relatives were against the relationship between the two. The family had even pressurised the girl to end her relationship. The girl had stopped meeting the boy for the past one month.
“In the past one month, the girl had stopped meeting the boy, and this might have driven him to go to Boridra village to meet her. Her relatives found him in the village and beat him up with wooden sticks and iron rods.. We will not spare anybody whosoever he may be,” Deputy Superintendent of police LK Zala told IE.
Police said that on Thursday, the boy, who was sitting at his father’s chicken shop in Dharoli village, went with his friend Viral Vasava on his new KTM bike to his brother-in-law Moin Patel’s house in Ankleshwar. However, he did not return home till night. According to police, Viral, who also hails from Dharoli village, and the victim had gone separate ways during the day.
At night, the youth’s elder brother received a call from Atul Vasava, a resident of neighbouring Kurchi village, that locals in Boridra villager had caught hold of his brother and were beating him up. The elder brother along with his father immediately rushed to the village and found the youth lying on the roadside in a pool of blood. Then they called an ambulance and took him to Jayaben Modi hospital in Bharuch.
Police said that when he was on the way to hospital, the youth told his family members that some boys from Boridra had beaten him up with iron rods and wooden sticks. The youth had received severe injuries on his head, hands and legs. The same night, he was shifted to Mahavir hospital in Surat but succumbed to his injuries the next morning. Police said his damaged bike has been recovered and a probe is underway to identify the killers.
The victim’s elder brother said that he lodged a complaint on Thursday night itself against Ajay Vasava, Vijay Vasava, Vikas Vasava, Dinesh Vasava, Akshay Vasava, and five others with Jhagadia police station. Police said that they have been charged under various IPC sections and Section 302 (murder) was added on Friday after the youth succumbed to his injuries.