Shirdi: Dalit youth killed for keeping Ambedkar song as ringtone

By NewsGram Staff Writer

A Dalit youth was brutally murdered, allegedly over his ringtone of a song on Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, in the temple town of Shirdi in Maharashtra.

Sagar Shejwal was a second year student of a nursing college in Nagpur. He came to Shirdi to attend a wedding ceremony and went to a local bar at 2 P.M. on May 16 with two of his cousins.

According to the police, "On hearing the ringtone, 'Kara kitihi halla, majboot Bhimacha killa' (Shout all you want, Bhim's fortress is strong), which was in praise of Ambedkar's work for Dalits, eight youths sitting there got agitated and asked him to switch it off."

Sagar refused to switch off his phone, which led to an altercation, and one of the boys hit Sagar with a beer bottle and started kicking and punching him. Then, they dragged him out, put him on a motorcycle and took him away to a nearby forest, said the police.

The police said that the body was found on the evening of May 16 near Shingve village.

The attackers belong to the dominant Maratha and OBC communities, and allegedly ran their bike repeatedly over Sagar's body, mutilating it, said a police officer.

The police stated that Sagar's mobile was missing, but they are investigating the matter on the clue of CCTV footage.

Already four of the eight assailants have been arrested, two of the attackers were caught from Goa, one from Pune and the fourth from Shirdi itself, an official from Shirdi police station informed.

Those arrested were identified as Vishal Kote, Rupesh Wadekar, S Wadekar and Sunil Jadhav. Four other accused involved in the attack are still absconding, police said.

The attackers have been booked under Sections 302 (murder), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 109 (punishment of abetment) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 (2) (v) and 3 (1) (X) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.