Maharashtra Dalit killings: Raj Thackeray asks CM for action to nab culprits

Mumbai, Nov 2: MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Nov 2 called on newly-appointed state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and asked him to take steps to arrest culprits of the last month's gruesome murder of three members of a Dalit family at a village in Ahmednagar district.

After the meeting, Raj told reporters that he had asked Fadnavis to personally look into the matter as the accused are still at large.

On Oct 21, a day after the killings, bodies of three members, one of them decapitated, were found dumped in a dry well in Javkheda village of Ahmednagar's Pathardi taluka.

"The Chief Minister told me that investigations are on and all possibilities are being explored," said Raj, who visited the village and met the victims' family yesterday. Notably, Fadnavis had also yesterday asked Maharashtra DGP to probe the triple murder.

Raj said caste violence had not happened in Ahmednagar district for the first time, and this was the third such incident in the recent past.

"I also discussed (with the CM) the need to boost the morale of policemen who investigate cases of caste violence. When they take action, police are also targeted, because of which there is low rate of conviction," he said.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief said he had also demanded Rs 3,000 per quintal for sugarcane growers and also filling the vacant post of Nashik Municipal Commissioner.

He said after the trust vote of the new government, he would make a presentation on tourism before the Chief Minister which would help to boost revenue and generate employment. "The Chief Minister has agreed for a meeting later this month," Raj said.

PTI