Witness To Dalit Man's Murder Killed 4 Years Later In Gujarat, 3 Arrested

A 46-year-old man who was a witness in the murder case of a Dalit man four years ago has died after allegedly being attacked by the accused's relatives last week, police said here on Friday.

Three of the alleged assailants have already been arrested.

Rajesh Makwana, resident of Bagad in Ranpur taluka in Botad district of Gujarat, was attacked near his village by seven armed men on September 6.

He died at a hospital in neighbouring Bhavnagar city on Thursday night, said Botad district superintendent of police Kishor Balolia.

As per preliminary probe, the assailants, who belonged to an Other Backward Class (OBC) community, held a grudge against Makwana for being a witness in the case of the murder of Manjibhai Solanki, a Dalit social worker who lived in neighbouring Jalila village.

Political rivalry between Solanki and his wife Geeta Solanki, the then village sarpanch, and the accused men led to his murder in 2019, the official said.

The men allegedly involved in the attack on Makwana are related to the eight persons arrested in the Solanki murder case, he added.

"Makwana was allegedly attacked by one Dhiru Khachar, his three sons and three unidentified men on September 6. He succumbed to injuries on Thursday night. While Khachar's three sons have been already arrested, Khachar himself and the other three are yet to be nabbed," said Botad district superintendent of police Kishor Balolia.

Based on a statement given by an injured Makwana at the hospital on September 6, Ranpur police registered a First Information Report on September 7 against Dhiru Khachar, his sons Haresh, Kishor and Raghu and three unidentified men from Bagad village.

They were initially booked for attempt to murder under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Now they would be booked for murder, the police official said.

Police have been deployed in Bagad village to maintain law and order, he added.

Kanshibhai Makwana, deceased Rajesh's uncle, said he was killed because he was a witness in the Solanki murder case. "We want transfer of the SP and the arrest of all the accused. Till then we will not claim the dead body," he told reporters.

Manjibhai Solanki (51), a resident of Jalia village, was beaten to death on Ranpur-Barwala road on June 19, 2019. While his wife was then village sarpanch, Manjibhai himself was a member of the Jalila gram panchayat and served as deputy sarpanch.

Days later, police arrested eight persons including Ashok Khachar, Pratap Khachar, Ruturaj Khachar and Raviraj Khachar in the case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)