Govind was found hanging near his house in Sonepat district's Gohana village, 75 kms from the national capital, hours after he was taken away by the police.
The Haryana government has ordered a three-member Special Investigation Team or SIT to probe the death of a 14-year-old Dalit boy, who was found dead on Thursday with wounds all over his body. His family has alleged that he died in police custody.
Govind was found hanging near his house in Sonepat district's Gohana village, 75 kms from the national capital, hours after he was taken away by the police. His family alleges that he was charged with the theft of a pigeon by local people and then beaten brutally by the police because he was a Dalit.
Even before the post-mortem report was out, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar backed the police's claim that the boy committed suicide. "The boy committed suicide at night and the reason will be revealed in the post-mortem report," he said, inviting criticism from the opposition and the boy's family. His government is already under fire over the death of two young Dalit siblings who were burnt alive in their home on Monday, allegedly by members of an upper caste community.
In protest against the boy's death, his family and locals in the village refused to cremate him and protested on railway tracks yesterday. They sat there with his body, disrupting rail traffic for four hours. The last rites were performed only after the National Commission of Scheduled Caste intervened.
"He was taken away for stealing a pigeon. Is that a reason to kill him? He was just a child," Govind's mother broke down sitting next to her son's body.
According to the police, situation in Gohana town was peaceful today. Police said the post-mortem showed that the boy died due to hanging.
The Gohana police have lodged an FIR against two assistant sub-inspectors and charged them with murder.
The police allegedly questioned the boy on Wednesday. When his mother went to get him, the policemen allegedly asked for money. She alleges that when she came with the money, she was told that he had escaped.
On Monday, a toddler and his 11-month-old sister died after their house was set on fire, allegedly by members of an upper caste community in a village in Faridabad, around 80 km away.
The incidents have taken a political turn with political parties accusing Haryana's ruling BJP of not protecting Dalits.