Amid the joyous celebration of Navratri across the country, a claim is making rounds on X about a Dalit boy being killed for watching a Garba event in Anand, Gujarat. Many users have shared a screengrab from an India Today report, alleging that a that a 21-year-old Dalit boy in Gujarat was beaten by upper-caste people for watching the Garba event.
AICC National Coordinator, Sridhar Ramaswamy, wrote, “In 21st Century India, a 21-year Dalit man was beaten to death for watching a Garba event in a temple from afar in Gujarat!!! It is a shame and a despicable act by the UCs who proudly keep flaunting the superiority of their Genes.”
In 21st Century India, a 21-year Dalit man was beaten to death for watching a Garba event in a temple from afar in Gujarat!!!
— Sridhar Ramaswamy శ్రీధర్ రామస్వామి ✋🇮🇳 (@sridharramswamy) October 4, 2024
It is a shame and a despicable act by the UCs who proudly keep flaunting the superiority of their Genes!!! pic.twitter.com/NYbyjMCH49
Fake news peddler Tanmoy wrote, “Hypocrisy Of Narendra Modi’s Politics Congress bent on dividing Hindu society on caste lines: PM Modi Meanwhile, A 21-year-old Dalit youth was beaten to death for merely watching a Garba event in Modi’s Model State.”
Hypocrisy Of Narendra Modi's Politics
— তন্ময় l T͞anmoy l (@tanmoyofc) October 11, 2024
Congress bent on dividing Hindu society on caste lines: PM Modi
Meanwhile, A 21-year-old Dalit youth was beaten to death for merely watching a Garba event in Modi's Model State. #RatanTata #RatanTataSir #MahaAshtami #महानवमी #DurgaPuja… pic.twitter.com/ue4I8Jtodq
Gems of Broominism wrote, “hindus are united (in killing a dalit man to death) gem.”
hindus are united (in killing a dalit man to death) gem pic.twitter.com/ZMkkIAvu0M
— Gems of Broominism (@GemsOfBrominism) October 10, 2024
Khabraan on Instagram asserted, “21 yrs. old Dalit man beaten to death for watching garba event in Gujarat Anand District.”
Also Read: Dalit Man Committing Suicide After He Was Beaten For Sitting on Chair in Ramleela is Misleading
Fact Check
In our fact-check report, we found that the India Today report is from October 2017. According to the report, the deceased, 21-year-old Jayesh Solanki, a resident of the Vankarvas area in Bhadraniya village, was attacked while watching a Garba event at a temple in Anand district with his cousin Prakash.
Jayesh, his cousin, and two other Dalit men were sitting near the temple to watch the Garba. Their presence near the temple was opposed by a few people from the same village, who hurled casteist slurs at them. As the altercation turned violent, Jayesh, along with his cousin and friends, was assaulted by the mob. Jayesh had suffered severe injuries and he was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Deputy SP (SC/ST cell) A.M. Patel had stated that the attack was not premeditated, as there was no rivalry between the deceased and the accused. Jayesh was killed in the heat of the moment.
According to an Indian Express report, the accused, Sanjay Patel alias Bhimo, was arrested along with seven others for lynching Jayesh. The accused were booked under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 302 (murder), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace), and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Furthermore, according to a Deccan Herald report, in 2021, a special court trial in Anand found Sanjay Patel guilty of killing Jayesh Solanki and sentenced him to six years in prison. The other accused were acquitted by the court, as their involvement in the mob that killed Jayesh could not be proven.
Conclusion: The news of a 21-year-old Dalit boy being killed for watching a Garba event in Anand district of Gujarat is seven years old. The accused found guilty of assaulting Jayesh, which led to his death, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2021.
| Claim | A 21-year-old Dalit boy killed in Gujarat for watching a garba. |
| Claimed by | Sridhar Ramaswamy, Tanmoy, Gems of Broominism and Khabraan. |
| Fact Check | The news is seven years old. |
Also Read: Exposing the Bias: U.S. Hypocrisy and USCIRF’s Flawed Report on India on Religious Freedom
