Tehri Garhwal – A spine-chilling incident has come to light from the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, where an 18-year-old Dalit student was brutally beaten to death for being friends with a minor girl from an upper-caste family. The case points towards social ostracism and an alleged 'honor killing.'

The victim has been identified as Ketan Lal (18), a Class 12 student resident of Deval village in Pratapnagar block. His friend, 22-year-old Diwakar Dimri, who was with him, was also grievously injured in the attack.

According to the victim's family, Ketan was friends with a minor girl from the neighboring Kholgarh village. The two had been in phone contact for about six months. The girl's relatives were unhappy with this friendship solely because Ketan belonged to the Dalit community.

In the police complaint, the family alleged that the girl's relatives pressured her to call Ketan to their village on Sunday night under the pretext of a meeting.

Around 11:30 PM on Sunday, Ketan reached Kholgarh village on a motorcycle along with his friend Diwakar. Ketan's family alleges that the two youths were ambushed upon arrival, caught, and locked inside a room. Throughout the night, they were beaten with sticks, belts, and other objects.

Ketan was specifically targeted with extreme brutality. He was subjected to inhuman torture allegedly, including pulling out his fingernails, driving nails into his legs and inflicting severe injuries to his genitals.

It was the accused themselves who later called the family and told them to come and take the boys away. When Ketan's family reached the village, he was in a critical condition. Before his death, Ketan told his father that he had been deliberately called to the village as part of a pre-planned conspiracy.

He was taken to the Community Health Centre at Chound, where doctors declared him brought dead. Diwakar, due to the severity of his injuries (including serious head and body trauma), was referred to the district hospital where his treatment is ongoing.

Father's Testimony: "They said – we have killed him"

Ketan's father, Dhanpal Lal, stated: "On Monday morning, I received a call from my son's phone. The caller, Yashveer, asked where Ketan was. When I checked, Ketan was not at home. When I told Yashveer this, he said, 'We have killed him.' After that, when I tried calling back, no one answered."

He alleged that the entire incident was carried out as a pre-planned conspiracy. Ketan died due to the extremely painful torture inflicted upon him.

The girl's father himself called Dhanpal and asked him to take his son away. Dhanpal found Ketan drenched in blood and rushed him to the nearby health center, where he succumbed to his injuries.

On Tuesday, a team of doctors from the Tehri Garhwal district hospital conducted Ketan's post-mortem. Police stated they are awaiting the report to ascertain the exact nature and severity of the injuries.

Arrests Made

The former village head of Ketan's village, Dinesh Shah, said the accused had no right to take the law into their own hands. "If the boys were at fault, the girl's family should have informed their families or the police. Who gave them the right to beat a boy to death?" he demanded, calling for strict action against all involved.

Tehri Garhwal's SSP, Shweta Choubey, confirmed the details. She stated that the girl's family was unhappy with Ketan's friendship. "The girl's father had earlier met the boy's father and told him to stop his son from talking to his daughter. On Sunday night, he and his accomplices committed this crime. Police acted immediately upon receiving information on Monday. We have arrested the girl's father, Yashbir, and her grandfather, Vidyadutt Panwar. As for the severity of the injuries, we are awaiting the post-mortem report."

The victim's family refused to take his body for cremation, stating they will not do so until all the attackers are arrested. Following the incident, villagers in Ketan's village are enraged. Residents submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Ghansali, Manju Rajput, demanding a fair investigation, justice, and security for the victim's family.