'Honour killing' in Mumbai: Girl's family lynches dalit boy friend

Navi Mumbai: A 16-year-old Dalit boy who was reportedly in a relationship with a 17-year-old schoolmate, died after he was brutally beaten up by the girl's family members in a village in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.Seven persons have been arrested so far, and the girl too has been detained. The girl belongs to the Agri community. Police have registered a case of murder, kidnapping, rioting and criminal intimidation against the accused and have also applied the Atrocities Act as the boy was a Dalit.Two sub-inspectors of Nerul police station, Yogesh Mane and Sonali Rajguru, have been suspended for dereliction of duty as the boy's family had earlier complained of intimidation by the girl's kin. The complaints allegedly were not only not taken seriously, instead Rajguru told the family that if the boy did not distance himself from the girl, he would meet the same fate as the couple in the Marathi film 'Sairat', which deals with honour killing.The deceased was the son of a clerk in SBI and lived in the SBI staff colony in Nerul. He had just passed his SSC exams and joined junior college.Police said the girl's brother had threatened the boy last week. On July 18, the girl's father and brother went to Nerul police station to complain that the boy was stalking her. When the boy's family went to the police station, its complaint was not taken.The boy's parents went to the station again on Tuesday and told the duty officer, Mane, that their son had been abducted by the girl's brother in an auto from near their house and was threatened. However, Mane did not file a complaint.The same evening, the girl's brother visited the boy's family and said if he came to their house, apologised to the girl's parents and promised not to meet her again, they would forgive him.When the boy and his parents reached the girl's building at 9.30pm, the girl's family, along with 15-20 others, brutally assaulted him till he fell unconscious. He was rushed by his parents to DY Patil hospital, where he was declared dead before admission.Those arrested are Sagar Naik (25), Sajesh Naik (21), Rajendra Naik (50), Malati Naik (43) Ashish Thakur (23) and Durgesh Patil (22). An auto driver Sameer Shaikh (23), a friend of Sagar, has also been arrested as his auto was used for abducting the boy.Senior inspector Adikrao Pol said, "Even the minor girl has been detained and as per the Juvenile Court's orders, she has been sent to a juvenile remand home in Bhiwandi.The other accused were produced before the Vashi court and have been remanded to police custody till July 25."The boy's father confirmed that Mane and Rajguru did not file their complaint.Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said if more cops are found responsible for lapses then they too will face action.