Surat district police arrested six persons who are migrants from Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly flogging a dalit man to death for “cutting foliage” in their plot.The victim Anil Rathod, 27 and his friend Nilesh Rathod, 26, residents of Saniya Kande village in Sachin area of Surat were reportedly cutting foliage in the Krishna Seven Star Party plot on the outskirts of the village on Wednesday (November 11) when the plot owner Vijay Maurya saw them and accused them of “theft”.The police however, is investigating the real provocation for the alleged murder.According to the police, the owner and five others “abused them with caste slurs”, allegedly kidnapped them and took them to the Radhakrishna Party plot in Karadva village some two kilometres away where they “tied them to the pillar of the party plot’s dome and flogged them with pieces of wood and electric service cables”. Party plots are commercially let out for social and cultural events like weddings.Anil was severely injured and Nilesh somehow managed to escape from the spot. Seeing his condition the accused fled.Nilesh contacted Prakash Rathod, Anil’s brother-in-law who reached the spot with his family members and found him unconscious. They took Anil to New Civil Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.Prakash Rathod, 25, a farm labourer, lodged a complaint at Dindoli police station against Vijay Maurya alias Sonu and others at Dindoli police station, on Wednesday. Police registered an FIR charging them with murder, illegal confinement, kidnapping, unlawful assembly and under sections of the Atrocities Act.Story continues below this adActing on the complaint, police arrested Vijay Maurya, Rahul Maurya, Abhishek Maurya, Sumit Singh, Sujit Yadav and Mahendra Maurya, all residents of Saniya Kande village. The accused are originally from Uttar Pradesh and have settled in Surat.“We have arrested the accused six youths and have started a probe to find out the major cause of the incident”, Surat Assistant commissioner of police J Division A C Tarde said.Pic attached. caption: The six accused men with the policeKamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground co... Read More