UP: ‘Thrashed’ by Gujjar men 11 days ago, Dalit youth dies

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A 23-year-old Dalit youth, who was allegedly beaten by a group of men belonging to Gujjar community in Kamaal village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh on 27 April, died in a hospital on Monday.

Earlier, on a complaint made by Akash’s father Dhanpal Singh, the police had arrested all the seven named accused.

“The charges of murder has been added in the case on the basis of post mortem report”, said Superintendent of Police (SP) of Baghpat Jai Prakash, while adding that swift action was taken on the complaint and all accused were arrested within 24 hours of the complaint.

Meanwhile, the last rites of the Dalit youth Akash, were performed in the village on Monday night in view of the tension. Police personnel have been deputed in the village in order to prevent any confrontation between the communities.

On 27 April, Akash and his friend Manish were returning to their village from a market, when a group of Gujjar men on gun-point dragged them inside their car and took them to a cremation and allegedly thrashed them.

The accused were reportedly angry with Akash for helping a village boy to elope with a Gujjar girl from the their village.

The injured Manish somehow managed to reach the village and narrated the entire incident to their family members, who immediately rushed to the spot and took Akash and Manish to the hospital for treatment. Critically injured Akash was referred to a hospital in Meerut, where he passed away on Monday.