20-yr-old man killed in Pune; 4 arrested

PUNE: A 20-year-old Dalit man was allegedly bludgeoned to death on Sunday for being in a relationship with an upper-caste woman in Pune’s Pimpri Chinchwad police, police said on Tuesday and added four people have arrested in connection with the case while two other alleged attackers are minors.

In his complaint, the man’s uncle said six people allegedly attacked the man over the relationship with rods and stones after pinning him down and hurled casteist abuses and spat at him. The 20-year-old was rushed to a hospital, where he died on Monday morning.

“We interrogated them after the arrest. From what they told us, the deceased was stalking a girl... They said that they had warned him against standing outside their house and stalking the girl,” said assistant police inspector Ambrish Deshmukh, who arrested the four. He said on Sunday night, the 20-year-old, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, started abusing them. “Their fight turned violent and two other family members arrived in a tempo and ... joined the fight. This is the version of the accused.”

Inspector Ajay Bhosale, who is investigating the case, said they were looking at the call records to confirm details. “The girl’s version of the story will also be recorded. What the accused say has no meaning at this point,” he said. The accused have been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code including 302 (murder) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.