In an ugly incident of vigilante moral policing in rural Maharashtra, a video has come to light of a young couple in Latur district being brutally beaten up by a gang in November last year. The ‘moral guardians’ themselves filmed the assault on mobile phone.
According to the police, those involved belonged to a Latur-based group called Ganimi Kawa headed by Balaji Godse, a self-appointed ‘moral guardian’ of the area. The video was later circulated on WhatsApp to shame the victim in her village.
The video, which went viral on social media, shows a man hurling expletives at the couple and hitting the boy while two others are mercilessly kicking and slapping the girl in Latur’s Ankoli village. The boy is shown pleading with the assaulters in vain while a crowd of people stand by.
Balaji Godse, who is absconding, participated in the assault, said the police. The cause of the arbitrary assault is yet to be ascertained.
The police have taken Nitin Godse, Sandeep Godse Amol Khandode in custody in connection with the incident and have lodged a case against three others including Balaji Godse.
Condemning the incident as “shocking”, Minister of Home for State Ram Shinde said he has ordered the Latur Superintendent of Police to conduct a stern probe into the matter.
