Gujarat: 46 men lynch dalit over caste-based fued

A group consisting of largely upper caste men belong to Mer community in Gujarat repotedly lynched a dalit man to death in a caste-based violence.

According to a report published in The Indian Express, 42-year-old Rama Singrahiya beaten to death with clubs and hacked with axes while he was sowing crop on his land in Sodhanpur village located 30 km from Porbandar.

The report said that the 42-year-old dalit farmer was killed over the land, which the upper castes Mers disputed. Sodhanpur village comprises Dalit families and a majority of Mer families.

The dalits mostly work on the lands belonging to Mer. The police said that the Mer community was opposed to land claim made by the dalit farmer as they said that the land was a pastoral land and was meant for cattle grazing.

The mob was led by the village head, who reportedly now is on the run. The police have arrested three people on Friday and in on the lookout for others.

In the meantime, the family of the deceased have demanded that they be allowed to bury Singrahiya on same farm land as he had work on it for the last 15 years.