Akshay Bhalerao, a Dalit youth, was killed on Thursday, June 1, by nine people of the Maratha community in Bondhar village of Nanded district. Locals suspect that they were angry with him because he had been instrumental in celebrating the birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.

The police have so far arrested seven accused under the SC/ST Act.

When The Wire spoke to local residents regarding the incident, the cousin of the deceased revealed that Dalits in the village were consistently targeted by members of the Maratha community, with incidents of caste-based abuse being common. Some even said that the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena was supporting the Marathas in this regard.

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