21-year-old Dalit allegedly hacked to death for owning, riding horse
A Dalit youth was allegedly killed by upper caste men in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, for owning and riding a horse. 21-year-old Pradip Rathod was found dead on Thursday in Timbi village of the district. The police have detained three suspects. Rathod's family refused to cremate his body till necessary action was taken, and said they received threats when they purchased the horse for Pradip.
Father bought horse worth Rs. 30,000 for his prince Pradip
Talking about Pradip, his father Kalu told Indian Express that his son wanted a horse for a long time and not a bike. Around 8 months ago, Kalu bought the horse for his son. In his complaint, Kalu said, "A man from Kshatriya community in Piprali said Dalits can't ride a horse and asked us to sell the horse or else he would kill us."
The fateful night: Father remembers incidents after son didn't return
In his complaint, Kalu said, "While we were on the road to Keriya village, we spotted three motorcycles. When we asked if he had seen a youth on horseback, he told us he had seen a man lying dead near a check-dam."
Pradip found in pool of blood, declared dead by hospital
Kalu and his elder son Rakesh found Pradip dead in a pool of blood. He was declared brought dead by Umrala government hospital. Later, the horse, Raju, led the procession of mourners as a mark of protest. The three detained by police have been identified as Natubha Darbar from Timbi and Ghoghubha Gohil and Jitubha Gohi from neighboring Piprali village.
Pradip received death threats from Natubha only two weeks ago
While the police are considering the angle of old rivalry or love affair as well, Kalu said, "Natubha had threatened to kill my son around two weeks ago if he did not give up riding a horse. They hatched a conspiracy on March 29."
