A 52-year-old Dalit man was allegedly abducted and beaten to death by two men from a dominant caste for a piece of land in a village near Dabra town of Gwalior district, the victim’s family said on Friday.
The deceased Ramhet Jatav, a resident of Akbai village, died on Friday while undergoing treatment in a hospital. The deceased’s brother Rambabu Jatav alleged that police were trying to save the accused Balveer Tomar and his son Ravindra Tomar, residents of the same village.
However, Pichhore police station incharge KD Sharma said, “The deceased Ramhet Jatav had filed a complaint of voluntarily causing hurt against the accused and he was fine but how he died is a matter of investigation.”
Sharma said, “About ten years ago, Jatav received one-acre land on a deed from the state government but Balveer Tomar had encroached upon the land and was not allowing Jatav to do farming. Jatav also filed a complaint with the revenue department.”
“On Thursday, Jatav tried to take over the land. Balveer Tomar and his son Ravindra Tomar with two unidentified persons took him to their house and beat him up. Later they allowed him to go. The villagers informed the police about the incident. He was taken to a government hospital in Dabra where the doctor said he had injuries in his legs. Later on Friday, he died in the hospital,” said Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}“On Thursday, Jatav tried to take over the land. Balveer Tomar and his son Ravindra Tomar with two unidentified persons took him to their house and beat him up. Later they allowed him to go. The villagers informed the police about the incident. He was taken to a government hospital in Dabra where the doctor said he had injuries in his legs. Later on Friday, he died in the hospital,” said Sharma.
{{/usCountry}}Contradicting to the statement of the police inspector, Rambabu Jatav said, “Police informed me on Thursday afternoon that my brother was seriously injured and wanted to talk to me. A constable connected me with my brother over the phone and the brother informed me that he was abducted and beaten up mercilessly by Tomar. He died of internal injuries but police are trying to save the accused.”
After death, the body of Jatav has been sent for a postmortem examination.
Gwalior superintendent of police Amit Sanghi said, “Police registered the case under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 294 (obscene language) and relevant sections of the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act as per the statement given by Jatav. The exact cause of death will be clear in the autopsy report. Then more sections will be added after the autopsy report.”
“We will also investigate the claims of the brother of the deceased. Police are trying to nab the accused,” he added.