"officials of the helpline service went to the house of his in-laws"
Indian man Haresh Solanki was allegedly murdered by his in-laws who belonged to a higher caste.
The 25-year-old victim was a Dalit while his wife and in-laws belonged to the upper caste Darbar community. The incident happened on July 8, 2019, in the village of Varmor, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Haresh had gone to their home in an attempt to persuade his in-laws to let their daughter Urmila move back into his home.
The couple had got married a few months prior to the incident and Urmila was two months pregnant with Haresh’s child.
However, the marriage was against the wishes of her parents.
According to Deputy Superintendent PD Manvar, the victim took her to his home in Gandhidham in the Kutch district where he lived with his parents.
DS Manvar explained the events leading up to the murder:
“However, relatives of Urmila brought her back, saying she will be sent back to Solanki after a few weeks.
“But when they refused to send her back for around two months, Solanki decided to visit her parents and convince them to send her back to him.”
On the day of the incident, Haresh sought the help of 181 Abhayam, a women’s helpline service.
Representatives arrived at his home and he boarded their vehicle so he could go to Varmor village to visit his wife.
DS Manvar said: “While Solanki remained inside the vehicle, officials of the helpline service went to the house of his in-laws and tried to persuade them to send back Urmila.”
However, Urmila’s family came to know that Haresh had accompanied the helpline officials and became enraged.
They rushed out of their house and managed to get inside the vehicle where they attacked him with sharp objects.
A police officer said:
“Solanki sustained injuries to his head and other parts of the body in the attack and died.”
The officer added that the helpline vehicle was damaged in the attack while the officials who had been there managed to escape without any injuries.
An FIR was registered against eight members of Urmila’s family.
They were charged under sections 302 (punishment for murder), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 147 (punishment for rioting) of the Indian Penal Code.
A case was also registered under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.
While a case has been registered, the people responsible for the Indian man’s death went on the run. Officers are working to arrest them.
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