A thirty-year-old sugarcane labourer was allegedly burnt to death for not returning Rs. 5,000 to a private money lender and labour contractor in Beed, police stated on Monday.
According to an FIR registered by the police, Sahadev Tayad was burnt by Vashisht Dhake on Sunday afternoon in Chincholi near Beed. Tayad succumbed to the burns on Monday morning.
Dhake has been charged under Section 302 pertaining to murder. Investigating Officer Dy SP Jyoti Khirsagar stated that the victim, who worked as contract labourer, had borrowed Rs10,000 from Dhake. In return, he promised to work on the sugarcane field that Dhake took him to. “Tayad didn't go to Dhake's fields, but returned Rs 5000. Our premise now is that Dhake was angry that he hadn't returned the rest of the money and burnt him,” Ms. Khirsagar said.
The alleged incident took place on Sunday afternoon in Beed's Chincholi village. “Dhake came to Tayad's house on Sunday morning. We are yet to ascertain the sequence of events, but he might have poured kerosene on him in a fit of anger,” Ms. Khirsagar said. Tayad's wife, who is also a contract labourer, was in Sangli at the time and returned to Beed on Monday. The couple has four children, two out of whom were living with the father. The police suspect that two of his sons, aged around six, were witness to the incident.
According to the police, Tayad suffered 93 per cent burns, and was admitted to a hospital in Beed. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday afternoon.
The police are now on the lookout for Dhake, who has since gone into hiding.
