On August 11, Suleman Rahim Khan Pathan was sitting with a Hindu woman in a cafe in Maharashtra’s Jamner town when a group of men forced him to go along with them.
The 21-year-old was driven around in a van and brutally assaulted before finally being dropped off at a bus stand in his village. Khan died of his injuries.
Eight men who were allegedly part of the mob that killed him have been arrested for the crime. At least four of them were involved with radical Hindutva groups, Scroll found by tracking their social media presence. Residents alleged that four others were members of the Bajrang Dal.
According to the police, of the eight accused, four men – Aaditya Devre, Krushna Teli, Sojwal Teli, and Rishikesh Teli – were from nearby villages. Murlidhar Kasar, investigating officer in the case, told Scroll that they led the mob and assaulted Khan and his family.
Scroll’s analysis of their social media accounts showed that the four were active members of Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, an organisation formed by the Hindutva hardliner Sambhaji Manohar Bhide, who was formerly associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
In December 2022, Dalit groups and political activists had accused Bhide of instigating violence in Bhima Koregaon village through provocative speeches.
A senior leader of Shiv Pratishthan, Anant Karmuse, told Scroll that he had no information to share about the links of the accused men to his organisation.
However, Nitin Chougule, a former senior leader of the organisation who is associated with an allied organisation, said the four accused “did not intend to kill” Khan.
“They were only protecting the girls of the community,” he said.
This story was originally published in scroll.in. Read the full story here.
