The Dalit community people residing in the Dhule district of Maharashtra have organized a massive rally on Tuesday, 16th July, days after some of the Muslim community people attacked the Dalits over a minor incident. The Dalits will stage the rally ‘Ambedkarite Morcha’ and demand strict punishment against the 18 identified Muslim accused and 25 other non-identified people from the Muslim community.
As per the exclusive information obtained by OpIndia, the Police arrested around 4-5 individuals in the case on 15th July and are conducting an investigation to nab the other accused persons. Earlier, the police had detained 11 persons involved in the case. The incident is said to have taken place on 11th July when the mob from the Muslim community brutally attacked the Dalit community people over a minor incident. However, the Dalits say that the Muslims attacked them as one of their community members had recently married a Muslim girl. The girl also clarified to the police that she had married the Dalit individual only because she was in love with him.
As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, on 10th July, the minor son of one Yusuf Khan had gone to a grocery store owned by the complainant. The minor aged 4, demanded a chocolate and abused the brother of the complainant who was present at the store. The brother of the complainant then asked the minor, “Is this what your parents have taught you?”.
The child then went home and got his grandmother Nazma who argued with the owner and his brother. She also threatened the owner. Further, after 2-3 hours, accused Shoaib Munna Pathan and Bhura Pathan arrived at the spot and started arguing with the complainant.
“We tried our best to pacify the matter. But it didn’t stop there. Yusuf Khan and Mustafa Pathan again came back at around 11:30 pm and then they started hitting us. They also abused us. This was due to the anger they had in their mind against our community,” the complainant Prem Ghanashyam Wagh said. He also added that his father, Ghanashyam Wagh was brutally assaulted by Yusuf and Mustafa.
The next day, on 11th July, a mob of around 30-40 Muslims arrived at the store and started assaulting the complainant and his family. As per the FIR, they attempted to murder the complainant. “They used sharp weapons and attacked me with the intention to kill me. They also pelted stones as a result of which my brother got injured. One minor girl aged 1.5 years also suffered injuries,” the complainant stated in the FIR.
#DalitLivesMatters
— Legal Rights Observatory- LRO (@LegalLro) July 15, 2024
Dalit Boy & Muslim Girl love story led to pre-planned rioting!#Jihadi mob attacked #Sakri #Dalit community on July 11; swords n other lethal weapons freely used against Dalit women, kids n elders, @SpDhule did nothing when #Jihadis did massive stone pelting on… pic.twitter.com/DjEDjZUlp7
The accused persons identified as per the FIR are Mustafa Pathan, Nadeem Firoz Shah, Mustafa Sheikh, Arbaaz Tamboli, Shamir Miraz, Nayin Beldaar, Ali Sheikh, Lucky Sheikh, Rizwan Pathan, Wasim Tamboli, Saddyampurna, Shoaib Pathan, Sultan Khatik, Rahis Beldar, Ashfaq Beldar, Arif Sheikh, Zakir Sheikh, and 25 other unidentified individuals.
As per the local reports, the accused persons are said to have launched an attack on Dalits over some past incident. OpIndia talked to one of the local activists who said that a couple of weeks ago, a Dalit boy had married a Muslim girl in the locality. The Muslim community was enraged by the incident and alleged that the Dalit boy had abducted her and forced her to marry. However, the girl appeared at the police station and stated that she was not forced and that she had married the man by her own will. “The couple is now in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar,” said activist Sagar Shinde.
The incident has caused a massive ruckus in the area where the police personnel have been deployed to avoid any untoward incident. Though the FIR has been filed under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita, 2023, police are yet to arrest all the accused.
As per the updates, the police arrested 4-5 individuals on 15th July. The authorities are investigating the matter to nab the rest of the accused.
