Gujarat: Dalit man thrashed for calling OBC shop owner's son 'beta' dies; kin refuse to claim body
Amreli, May 23 (PTI): A 20-year-old Dalit man who was thrashed on May 16 in Gujarat's Amreli district over a trivial issue along with three others by a mob has died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhavnagar, a police official said on Friday.
Nilesh Rathod died on Thursday night, and the nine held after registration of FIR on the day of the incident will now face murder charges, informed Deputy Superintendent of Police Nayna Goradia.
The youth was reportedly thrashed by 13 persons after he addressed a shop owner's son as "beta" (son) while buying wafers.
Dalit leader and Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, following Rathod's death, met the latter's family and announced they will not claim the body till certain demands are met, including a government job or four acres of land to each of the four victims as well as arrest of all those involved.
"The accused must be booked under Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act and a public prosecutor of the family's choice must be appointed. If our demands are not met, the family will not claim Rathod's body," said Mevani.
Deputy SP Goradia said the district administration was trying to convince the family to claim's Rathod's body.
"Of the 13 accused, we have arrested nine. Efforts are on to nab the remaining four. While Rathod succumbed to injuries, the other three who were thrashed are out of danger," Goradia said.
The incident took place on May 16 when Dalit youths Lalji Chauhan, Bhavesh Rathod, Suresh Vala and Nilesh Rathod proceeded to buy wafers from a shop before having lunch at an eatery along Savarkundla road in Amreli town.
The wafers shop owner Chotha Bharwad got angry when Nilesh addressed his teenage son as "beta" and hurled casteist abuses on finding out that the latter was a Dalit, as per the FIR. The main accused belongs to the Other Backward Classes.
When three others went to the shop to understand what happened, Bharwad and one Vijay Tota started thrashing them and also called around 9-10 others at the spot. These men, armed with sticks and axes, started hitting these youths in an indiscriminate manner and forced them to run for cover in the fields. They stopped only after an elderly man intervened.
Based on a complaint given by Lalji Chauhan, who was admitted to a hospital in Amreli, police lodged an FIR and arrested nine men, including Bharwad, on charges of assault, rioting and unlawful assembly. Now, they will face murder charges, police said.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
