“Break the pride of Mahars..!” Caste violence on Dalit youth in Beed – beaten with iron rod, jewelry looted
he victim was prevented from going to the hospital, the police delayed in filing the FIR
Published on: 09 Jun 2025, 3:04 pm
Shirapur Gut – A horrific incident of caste violence has come to light in Shirapur Gut village of Shirur Kasar tehsil of Beed district of Maharashtra. Vaibhav Khandgale (32), a youth from the Dalit community, and his family were attacked by upper caste people. Vaibhav was attacked just because he had helped a Dalit teenager. The incident has exposed the deep-rooted caste discrimination in the village.
On June 4, around 6 pm, Vaibhav Khandgale returned home from his office. He saw that a Dalit teenager from the village was unwell and no one was helping him. Vaibhav immediately rushed him to the hospital. At 7:30 pm, when he returned home and was sitting outside, 10-12 upper caste (Maratha) men suddenly attacked him in a car. Some of Vaibhav’s old classmates were also among them.
According to eyewitnesses, the attackers hurled caste-slurs, saying, “Khoop jaast paishacha maaj ahe ka tula? Maharache lokam lay majalet…” ( “Are you crazy about money? These Mahar (Dalit) people have become very arrogant…” ). They beat Vaibhav with an iron rod, looted his wallet (₹8,000) and stole his mother’s gold jewellery from inside the house. The mob dragged him onto the street and beat him repeatedly while more than 200 villagers watched, with no one intervening.
When Vaibhav’s parents returned, his mother tried to save him but she too was abused with casteist slurs and sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, the mother of the Dalit youth whom Vaibhav had taken to the hospital was also attacked. The entire Dalit community was abused and threatened with social boycott.
On the contrary, the wife of the main accused filed a false compensation case against Vaibhav for threatening and theft.
Speaking to The Mooknayak , Vaibhav’s brother Dhananjay said, “When the family was trying to take Vaibhav to the hospital, the villagers blocked the way. I called the police helpline at 8:17 pm, but help arrived late. Vaibhav was admitted to the Beed Civil Hospital by midnight. There are only 4-5 houses of the Dalit community in the village while most of the houses belong to the Marathas, due to which they dominate and Dalit families do not dare to speak up when injustice is done.
Despite the severity of the attack, the hospital administration did not register a medico-legal case (MLC). No inquiry was conducted despite the Superintendent of Police (SP) office being nearby. Even when the police came, their officers spoke insensitively to the victim. Vaibhav had swelling on his face and was unable to speak due to the trauma but the next day the hospital discharged Vaibhav without examining him—which seems to indicate that they wanted to avoid an FIR.”
The family was called to Shirur Kasar police station the next day, but were made to wait till 5 pm for the PSI and PI to arrive. The police initially refused to register an FIR, but after pressure, an FIR was filed at 8 pm. Meanwhile, the families of the accused joined hands with Dalit leaders to pressure them to withdraw the complaint—all in the presence of the police.
In response, the wife of the main accused filed a false compensation case at 11 pm. She claimed that at 8 pm on the same day, Vaibhav, his father and another Dalit youth threatened her and stole ₹50,000 from her house. The family says this is a conspiracy to weaken the case under the SC/ST Act.
The Khandgale family has accused the police of favouring the upper caste accused. They are demanding prompt action and a fair investigation under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
