Two tribal boys beaten by police officer for sharing WhatsApp status on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
Akola, Maharashtra, India 
20 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Akola, Maharashtra, two tribal schoolboys, Prashant Dhele and Anand Ingle, from the Lohara village, were brutally assaulted by a police officer named Gopal Dhole of the Urla police station. He assaulted the two boys for putting a WhatsApp status of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. According to news reports, the two schoolboys had set their WhatsApp status with an image of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on horseback. The accused officer lost his calm after seeing the WhatsApp status. According to a report by Ajinkya Bharat, a Marathi newspaper, the locals said that Dhole summoned the boys and violently beat them with a baton. The students sustained injuries and were hospitalised for treatment. This act of police brutality and custodial violence sparked widespread outrage among the villagers. In response, nearly fifty local Hindus of the Lohara village gathered outside the office of Akola SP Bachchan Singh and filed a formal complaint against Inspector Dhole. They demanded his immediate suspension. In their complaint, the villagers described the assault as inhumane and a gross abuse of police power. They emphasised that this incident highlighted the police's dictatorial behaviour. The villagers demanded the authorities to take swift action to ensure justice. A Hindu organisation, 'Sakal Hindu Samaj,' also organised a protest outside the SP’s office, demanding immediate measures. Rajeet Gawande, a local Hindu activist, strongly condemned the incident, stating, “It is deeply condemnable that police officers are targeting Hindu youths and assaulting them so inhumanely. If Inspector Gopal Dhole has any courage, let him shut down the illegal rackets and slaughterhouses operating in his jurisdiction.” According to media reports, similar complaints were made against Inspector Dhole in the past, yet no action was taken by senior officials. Following the protests, the SP ordered an internal inquiry into the matter. While media reports indicate that the police did not issue any official statement, however, they were reportedly handling the case with due seriousness.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Restriction/ban on Hindu practices. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The brutal assault of Prashant Dhele and Anand Ingle by Inspector Gopal Dhole was not merely an act of police brutality but a targeted attack driven by hostility towards their Hindu identity. Shivaji Maharaj is celebrated as a protector of Hindu culture and religion during a period when the Indian subcontinent was under the influence of the tyrannical Mughal rule. He established a Hindu kingdom and worked to revive and protect Hindu traditions, temples, and customs. Shivaji is seen as a saviour who defended Hindu traditions and practices from potential suppression which is why he is venerated by Hindus. The fact that the officer resorted to such extreme violence solely because the boys had displayed an image of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on their WhatsApp status underscores the deep-seated animosity behind the act. The victims were not engaged in any unlawful activity; rather, they were exercising their fundamental right to express their cultural and religious identity, which was met with an oppressive and violent response. As the police officer sought to suppress Hindu identity and intimidate those expressing their beliefs openly, his actions were evidently driven by underlying animosity towards the religion. Given the severity of this religious harassment, the case warrants inclusion in the hate tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 2
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
