Thane Dalit boy killed over affair with upper caste girl; 7 arrested

Thane: In a suspected case of honour killing, a 16-year-old Dalit boy was allegedly killed by family members of an upper caste girl with whom he was in love with in Navi Mumbai. Seven persons have been arrested in connection with the case and the 17-year-old girl has also been detained, police said on Thursday. Following the incident, some members of the Republican Party of India (RPI) took out a morcha to Nerul Police Station late last evening demanding action against the police personnel who had allegedly refused to initially register a complaint by the parents of the boy of his abduction by the girl’s brothers. The Navi Mumbai Police yesterday suspended two officers of Nerul Police Station in this connection. The boy, identified as Swapnil Sonawane, a resident of Dharave village in Nerul area of Navi Mumbai in Thane district, was in love with a 17-year-old schoolmate. [caption id=“attachment_2906142” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] However, the girl’s parents did not approve of the relationship. On Tuesday night, a group of around 20-25 people, including the girl’s family members, severely beat up the boy with iron rods at Dharave village in Navi Mumbai, police said. The boy was later taken to a local hospital where he was declared brought dead, they said. Subsequently, the police yesterday arrested the girl’s brothers Sagar Naik (25), Sajesh Naik (21), father Rajendra Naik (50), mother Malti Naik (43), the brothers’ friends Ashish Thakur (23) and Durgesh Patil (22), and an autorickshaw driver Sameer Shaikh (23). The accused have been booked under relevant IPC sections for murder, kidnapping, rioting and criminal intimidation and also under The SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), police said. The arrested persons were produced in Vashi court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody till 25 July, Senior Police Inspector, Nerul, Adikrao Pol said. The girl was also detained and sent to a Bhiwandi remand home, police said. Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said that two officers of Nerul police station have been placed under suspension against whom there are allegations that they refused to register the complaint of the boy’s family. An officer of the ACP rank from another division will carry out investigation into the case, he said last night.