Dalit boy’s murder: Victim’s mobile recovered from accused

The Navi Mumbai crime branch on Saturday recovered the mobile of the Dalit boy who was murdered by a mob for being in a relationship with a girl in Nerul on Tuesday

The Navi Mumbai crime branch on Saturday recovered the mobile of the Dalit boy who was murdered by a mob for being in a relationship with a girl in Nerul on Tuesday night.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale visited the victim’s family at Nerul in Navi Mumbai on Saturday. (Bachchan Kumar/HT)

The police said the girl’s family was furious to learn about a photograph the girl sent to the victim’s phone. Her family took his phone after they kidnapped him from his residence, one day prior to the murder.

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“We recovered the phone from one of the accused. We are examining it to find evidence against the arrested people and to verify the claims made by both parties,” said a crime branch official.

The minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale visited the victim’s family on Saturday to offer his condolences. He was accompanied by the local leaders of his party.

He said the case should be handed over to the criminal investigation department for better results. He assured the victim’s family that he would discuss the matter with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday.

Read: Mumbai: Dalit teen ‘killed’ over affair with upper caste girl, 7 arrested

“The local police should have paid due attention to this case right from the beginning, but they did not. Strict action should be taken against the officers who are responsible,” he said.

Athawale said the accused’s trial should be fast tracked, so that they get punishment at the earliest. He promised to get the compensation fund for the victim’s family released from the government soon.

“On the day of murder, the victim and his family were driven away from their residence by the gang. No one in the society protested. The family was beaten up on the road and no one came to protect them,” he added.

The victim’s family organised a candlelight rally protesting the murder, which will be held on Sunday morning. The rally will move from their residence to Nerul police station and then to the spot at Dharave village where the murder took place.

“The rally is to remember our beloved nephew and to protest his gruesome murder. It will be peaceful,” said the boy’s uncle, Ramesh Sonawne.