22, Jan 2016

On Thursday, members of Rathod’s Banjara community and Hindutva groups met senior police officers and threatened to launch an agitation on January 27 over the death.
Written by Chandan Haygunde | Pune | Updated: January 22, 2016 10:49 am
The death of a teenager who was set on fire by three people, including two brothers, who accused him of stealing vehicle batteries has acquired a communal colour in Pune.
While the 17-year-old’s father has alleged that his son was burnt alive after he identified himself as a Hindu, a purported video of the boy confirming the allegation while on his death bed has gone public.
Some pro-Hindutva groups, meanwhile, have demanded an investigation by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), claiming that the manner in which Savan Rathod was killed “matched the methods” of Islamic State militants.
On Thursday, members of Rathod’s Banjara community and Hindutva groups met senior police officers and threatened to launch an agitation on January 27 over the death. Also, a magistrate court extended police custody of the three suspects — Imran and Zuber Tamboli, and Ibrahim Sheikh — until January 25.
According to the police FIR — the 17-year-old is listed as the complainant — Rathod was set on fire with petrol by the three suspects in a narrow lane in Kasba Peth in the afternoon of January 13 after they accused him of stealing. He succumbed to his injuries last Friday.