The crime branch of Mumbai police on Saturday nabbed a 22-year-old man from suburban Malad in connection with the killing of dalit lawyer and activist Devjibhai Maheshwari in Kutch in Gujarat, an official said. The accused, Bharat Jayantilal Raval alias Maharaj, is a resident of Tirupatinagar in Kutch, he said.
Devji Maheshwari was a senior activist of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) and of the Indian Legal Professionals Association, Indian Express reported.
Dalit organisations had given a call for bandh in Gujarat and other states if the accused was not arrested within 24 hours of the incident, which occurred on Friday, the official said. A case of murder was registered at Rapar police station in Kutch under various sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the official said.
Unit 9 of the Mumbai crime branch received a tip-off that the main accused in the crime is looking for safe shelter in Malad to evade arrest, he said. “A team led by senior police inspector Nandkumar Gopale laid a trap in the area and apprehended the accused while he was roaming suspiciously,” said Akbar Pathan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection).
The accused told investigators that Maheshwari had uploaded some posts on Facebook against Brahmans, the official said. Maharaj had also said that he had warned Maheshwari in the past against doing so, he said.
Maheshwari had posted a video on his social media account of BAMCEF National President Waman Meshram saying that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes are not Hindus.
“The accused said Maheshwari had posted some communal content on Facebook, following which he killed him,” the official said. He has been handed over to the Gujarat Police for further investigation, he added.
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