Maharashtra: Assaulted for Transporting Cow to Uncle’s Place, Minor Dies by Suicide
New Delhi: A seventeen-year-old minor from Ghalanimb village in Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar) district of Maharashtra died by suicide at home on October 28 after being allegedly attacked brutally by the local cow vigilantes.
According to his family, he later came under mental stress because videos of his assault and messages calling him a "Hindu Dalal" were circulating on social media.
The victim left home around 11 am on October 27 to deliver a local cow from Guha village in Rahuri taluka to his uncle's house in Chandewadi. He was driving his father's Tata Ace goods vehicle tempo when a group of cow vigilantes – Dinesh Rakhecha, Prashant Rakhecha, Sanket Kharde, Saurabh Lahamge and a few unidentified individuals – stopped his vehicle on the Kolhar–Rajuri road.
They found that he was carrying a cow inside and started abusing and beating him. They demanded his name, village, age and driving-license details, and allegedly asked him to pay Rs 5,000.
When the victim told them he did not have the money, the men called the police. Officers from Loni police station reached the spot and took victim, along with the cow and the vehicle, and brought them to the police station.
The police registered a case against the minor under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Sections 181 and 3(1)), for driving without a licence, and under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976 (Sections 5, 5(C), 9 and 12(A)), for alleged illegal transportation of cattle.
However, without no charges were filed nor was any action taken against the cow vigilantes who assaulted him.
Trial by social media
The night of the assault, photos and videos of the minor being beaten up were circulated on Instagram and WhatsApp, and one of the messages referred to him as a "Hindu Dalal". The Wire has seen the alleged messages on WhatsApp.
This allegedly caused severe mental distress to the minor and the next morning, i.e. October 28, around 11 am, the victim died by hanging himself.
Speaking to The Wire, the victim's cousin brother Amol said that the victim was transporting the cow on his uncle’s request. "His uncle had asked had asked him to bring a local breed of cow from Guha village and deliver it to his home in Chandewadi village."
"On the way, a few cow vigilantes stopped him. They beat him up and demanded money, saying, ‘Give us money, then we will let you free'. He didn't have any money. So they beat him and fractured his leg. Later, the vigilantes took photos and recorded videos of him and posted them on social media. He saw those photos and videos on Instagram and WhatsApp, and that's when he broke down. After seeing the posts the next morning, he ended his life."
"The post-mortem (PM) report only mentioned that he died by ‘hanging'. Those cow vigilantes had beaten him, and they had even made videos of the assault. His leg was fractured, there were marks from the beating on his back, and his thumb was injured, but none of this was shown in the report," Amol added.
After the minor’s suicide, his father alleged that his son died by suicide because of the individuals who assaulted him, and who portrayed him as a "Hindu Dalal" on social media.
Speaking with The Wire, he said, "My son carried his uncle's cow. He knew how to drive the tempo, but didn't have a license. On the Kolhar-Rajuri road, cow vigilantes stopped his vehicle, snatched his phone and assaulted him.”
“Later, those cow vigilantes called the police, and the police took him to the police station. They filed a case against my son and took no action against those who had beaten him. The next morning, after seeing social media posts of the assault, he broke down and hanged himself. My son was innocent," he said.
Police probe and delay in action
After the minor’s suicide, his family demanded that a case be filed against the cow vigilantes who were responsible for his death, had assaulted him, and who had circulated his photos and videos on social media.
Photos and videos of the minor circulated by Dinesh Rakecha on a WhatsApp group. Photo: By arrangement
However, they alleged that the police did not pay heed to them. Finally, after the family refused to perform his final rites until a case was registered, the Loni police filed an FIR against four individuals at 12:40 am on October 29.
The registered FIR names Dinesh Rakecha, Prashant Rakecha, Sanket Kharde and Saurabh Lahamge, who have been charged for abetment of suicide (BNS Section 107), assault and criminal intimidation (BNS Section 351(2)), and violation of the Juvenile Justice Act (Section 74).
Almost 20 days have passed since the FIR was filed but the Loni police have not yet been able to arrest any of the accused yet. When The Wire contacted inspector Kailas Wagh of the station about this, he said, "The Loni police are searching for the accused. They have not been found yet."
When asked why it was taking so long to arrest the accused, the concerned officer disconnected the call and did not respond any further.
If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. Icall, a counselling service run by TISS, has maintained a crowdsourced list of therapists across the country. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.
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