Six remanded to police custody

Mumbai, Oct 30 (UNI) Initiating swift action in connection with the lynching of a migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh, Railway police today arrested six people, who were remanded to police custody till November 3 by the Railway court in Kalyan in Thane district.

The accused, charged with murder, are residents of Khapoli village in Raigad district of Maharashtra, Raiway sources told UNI here this evening.

The six remanded to police custody are Vikas Waghmare, Ajay Hadap, Ketan Hadap, Sanjay Hadap, Manoj Palande and Avinash Thombre, the sources said.

Interrogation of the accused revealed that there was an altercation over window seats on Tuesday morning between the Marathi-speaking people and the four UP-bound labourers, including 25-year-old Dharamdev Rai on board the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus- bound train at Khapoli, which resulted in the death of Dev and minor injuries to his three colleagues.

The deputy chief minister R R Patil had yesterday said the incident was not a hate crime against North Indians and also announced a compensation of Rs two lakhs for Dev.

MNS leaders in Thane district have denied the involvement of their activists in the crime.

Railway police confirmed that the six had no political affiliations and preliminary reports indicated that nobody shouted any slogan in support of Marathis.

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