Maharashtra: Four Dalits hung from tree, beaten up over suspicion of stealing goats in Ahmednagar

In a shocking incident, four men were allegedly hung upside down from a tree and thrashed with sticks over the suspicion of stealing a goat and pigeons in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, police said on Sunday. The incident is said to have taken place in the Haregaon village of Shrirampur taluka.

After a video of the incident went viral on social media the police arrested one person in connection with the attack, while five others are absconding, an official from Ahmednagar police said.

On August 25, a group of six persons from the village allegedly took four Dalit men, all in their 20s, from their homes, he said. The victims were hanged upside down from a tree and beaten up with sticks over suspicion of stealing a goat and some pigeons, he said.

The accused have been identified as Yuvraj Galande, Manoj Bodake, Pappu Parkhe, Deepak Gaikwad, Durgesh Vaidya and Raju Borage, the official said. One of the accused allegedly shot a video of the attack, which later surfaced on social media, he said.

The injured men were later taken to a nearby hospital, the official said, adding that one of the victims Shubham Magade lodged a complaint with the police.

A case under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 364 (kidnapping) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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