MUMBAI: Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale on Saturday visited the two minor boys from a backward community who were thrashed and paraded naked in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district for swimming in a well.
Athawale assured them of a stern action in the case and granted them an immediate relief of rupees 11lakh.
"I shall speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the incident and see to it that the members of Matang community from the village are rehabilitated properly," he told the media after his interaction with the family members of the victim.
Two minor boys from the Matang community in the village were beaten up and video graphed naked on Sunday, June 10. The mother of one of the boys had filed a complaint on June 13.
"Entire village is against the accused who belong to NT and OBC communities. I've spoken to the police officials and asked them to ensure there are no loopholes in the investigation. They will make sure the perpetrators get a maximum punishment," Athawale said.
The minister also said that the incident is wrongfully being twisted as a caste conflict between Dalits and upper castes.
"I shall appeal the Congress not to malign the image of Maharashtra by giving the incident a caste colour. Though the incident is serious, the attempts to reap political benefits out of it too are deplorable," the minister added.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, who is heading the government in absence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, too appealed people "to not to engage in caste politics over the deplorable incident".