The married father of three was allegedly found in an objectionable position with the main accused’s sister-in-law which led to him being strangled and left for dead.
Barmer: A young Dalit tribal man, Khetaram Bheel was beaten to death by a dozen men on July 20 and his body, with hands and legs tied, was found the next day around 500 meters from the spot. Initial reports suggest that he was strangulated by a man called Amar Khan for having an affair with his wife and sister-in-law.
“The prime accused in the murder of a tribal man, Khetaram Bheel, was arrested on Wednesday. Bheel, 22, had been killed for his alleged love affair with two Muslim women in Barmer, the police said,” The Hindustan Times reported.
“Chohtan circle officer Surendra Kumar, who is the investigating officer, said that they have arrested Amar Khan on Wednesday, who has confessed to his crime before the police. According to Kumar, Amar told the police that he had seen Bheel in an objectionable position with his sister-in-law. He said that when he reached the spot, Bheel ran away and he chased him,” the report said.
“Bheel, of Mekranwala village under Ramsar police station, is married with three children and his wife is pregnant with the fourth child. Bheel got married in 2012 and has a five-year-old son and two daughters. He had rented land from a widow, Aasiyat, who lives in the same village, to run a brick unit. Aasiyat has four daughters, three are married. The youngest daughter lives in Mekranwala village with her. Bheel allegedly had an affair with two of Aasiyat’s daughters — the youngest and Amar’s wife,” HT reported.
“He was killed by the members of Aasiyat’s family on July 21, the police said. Amar has been charged with strangling Bheel. Police said that they had detained nine accused in the case on the day of the incident and later arrested two. They have been identified as Pathai Khan (18) and Anwar Khan (40,)” the report said.
“Highly placed source in the police department said that initial investigations revealed that Bheel worked at the house of the Muslim girl and developed a love affair with the girl. “He was caught with the girl several times in the past, but instead of approaching police, the family members had settled the matter through the village panchayat,” the official said in a report by HT.
“Bheel’s brother Gordhan Ram has given a report to the police alleging that they have taken a piece of land on rent from Aasiyat, wife of Mahboob Khan. He said they have been manufacturing bricks on the rented land and for past some time they have some dispute with the landlords,” HT reported.
Rameshwarlal Meghwal, additional superintendent of police in Barmer, said that eight of 10 accused have been detained and are being questioned. “Bheel’s body was handed over his family members after post mortem. Initially, his family members had refused to accept the body, but they accepted it after they were assured of a fair investigation,” he said in the report.
Khetaram’s brother Hira Ram Bheel is the president of BJP’s Ramsar Mandal SC/ST Morcha.
“It is the third criminal incident in the recent past involving Muslims and Dalits. Earlier, two Dalit girls were found hanging with a Muslim man under Bijrad police station area in Barmer district. It was said that the trio was in love and committed suicide considering opposition of their families. The Dalit girl’s family has alleged that Muslims have killed their daughter. In June, a 30-year-old Muslim man had allegedly raped a seven-year-old Dalit minor girl. Police have arrested the accused and submitted the charge sheet in the case,” the report said.