29 August,2023 03:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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A woman belonging to a backward community in Maharashtra's Satara district was beaten up allegedly by four persons after she asked one of them to return Rs 2,000 which she had given him for cattle fodder, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place at Panvan village under Man taluka in Satara on August 26, an official said, adding that the four accused have been arrested, PTI reported.
The report said that on August 25, the woman demanded Rs 2,000 from the main accused, Devdas Narale, to whom she had given the money for the fodder of cattle, he said.
Even after repeated demands, Narale, who is from an upper caste, did not return the money and allegedly abused the woman and threatened her, the official said.
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On Saturday morning, Narale along with three others went to the victim and started beating her up in front of villagers, he said.
A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms.
While beating her, the accused persons allegedly used criminal force to outrage her modesty, the official said.
The victim's son filed a complaint, following which the Mhaswad police registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention), and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.
The police arrested Narale and Pintu alias Shantaram Narale on Sunday, the official said, adding the other two accused - Santosh Shinde and Janappa Shinde - were nabbed on Monday evening.
A probe is on into the case, the police said.
Novelist Anand Neelakanthan receives extortion call
A man allegedly attempted to extort Rs 10 lakh from novelist Anand L Neelakantan by claiming that he had insulted the Valmiki community in one of his books, police said on Tuesday.
The police in Maharashtra's Thane city has registered an offence under sections 384 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against one Ravindra Chowdhary, who identified himself as the chairman of the Vishwa Valmiki Samaj, an official said.
The 49-year-old novelist is his complaint claimed that he received a call from Chowdhary, who identified himself as the chairman of the Vishwa Valmiki Samaj, on the night of August 21, he said.
The caller claimed that Neelakantan had insulted the Valmiki community in his book "Valmiki's Women: Five Tales of Ramayana", and he proceeded to demand Rs 10 lakh to placate the community, the official said.
After negotiations, the caller settled for Rs. 2.5 lakh. The novelist then approached the police with a complaint, he said.
A probe has been initiated but no arrests have been made in this regard so far, the official said.
Neelakantan has penned more than 13 books and is also a columnist, screenwriter, and public speaker. He is known for writing mythological fiction and has authored 12 books in English and one in Malayalam. (PTI)
