LUCKNOW: Grief and simmering tension gripped Mohalla Ambedkar in Greater Noida district on Saturday as the body of a 20-year-old Dalit youth, who died at a Delhi hospital following an attack by a gang during his birthday celebration on October 15, was brought home amid heavy police deployment.
The youth, Aniket Jatav, was allegedly attacked outside his home in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida on the night of his birthday. Police have arrested two men — Yuvraj and Jitu — in connection with the assault, while efforts are on to trace the remaining suspects, sources said.
It took nearly an hour of tense negotiations in the narrow lane, crowded with mourners and onlookers, before the grieving family — demanding justice for Aniket — allowed the body to be taken for cremation.
Aniket, who worked as a mechanic and driver, was allegedly attacked by a group of “upper-caste” men on the night of October 15.
“He had just cut the cake when they came,” said his uncle Sumit, who also sustained injuries in the attack. His right eye was visibly swollen and bruised. Sumit alleged that the accused had been threatening Aniket for several weeks.
The Rabupura police registered an FIR on October 17 — two days after the incident — naming seven "upper-caste" men. Two have been arrested, while five remain absconding.
A police officer said investigators suspect that a social media post may have triggered the violence. However, according to Sumit, tensions had begun a month earlier when Aniket intervened during a local Ramleela, where a group of upper-caste men were allegedly abusing one of his friends.
“They hurled casteist slurs and the situation escalated,” Sumit recalled. “Two days before the attack, they caught Aniket outside his house and hit him with a rock. Aniket slapped one of them in retaliation. They told him he had forgotten his aukat (status).”
On the night of October 15, when Aniket was celebrating his birthday in a nearby field, the same group allegedly returned armed with rods and hockey sticks. “They started hitting me. I thought Aniket had escaped, but we later found him lying unconscious behind some bushes, his body soaked in blood,” Sumit said.
Both men were rushed to a local hospital and later referred to Delhi for treatment. Sumit was discharged two days ago, but Aniket succumbed to his injuries earlier this week.
According to Sujeet Upadhyay, Station House Officer (SHO) of Rabupura, an FIR initially registered for assault has now been amended to murder. “We are verifying the allegations of caste abuse. A case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered, and efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused,” he said.
The Jatav community of Rabupura — a large Dalit population living along the southern edge of Gautam Buddh Nagar district — resides alongside upper-caste families who, locals say, control much of the land in the area.
Aniket’s father is unemployed, while his mother said her eldest son was the family’s sole breadwinner. “He worked long hours repairing motorbikes and brought home whatever he could. That money kept us going,” she said, surrounded by mourners.
As the body arrived, scores of men gathered near Ambedkar Chowk, while women wailed inside the family courtyard. Throughout the day, a stream of politicians visited the family to offer condolences. Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh (BJP) sat quietly among the mourners and later arranged a call with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, Singh said, “assured strict action.”
Leaders from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) also visited the family and pledged support.
Meanwhile, opposition parties, including the Congress, strongly condemned the incident, accusing the government of failing to curb caste violence in the state.
“Every week or two, we see reports of Dalits being killed in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. @narendramodi and his double-engine governments have completely failed to protect the lives of Dalits,” Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammad wrote in a post on X.
