Six persons, including two college students, were arrested on Thursday for allegedly beating a 25-year-old labourer, from Uttar Pradesh, to death in a local train, but police denied they were linked to any political party or the incident was fueled by regionalism.
"The groups had an argument over seats in the train since the four persons from UP had placed their luggage there," additional director general of police (Railways) K P Raghuvanshi said in Mumbai.
The incident was not a fall-out of regionalism but took place on the "spur of the moment", he said, adding that the six arrested persons had no particular political affiliation.
The six arrested have been identified as 26-year old Vikas Dattu Waghmare, 30-year old Manoj Ramdas Palande, 24-year old Avinash Narhari Thombre, 18-year old Ajay Dilip Hadap, 18-year old Sanjay Hadap and 23-year old Ketan Kashinath Hadap.
They were produced before a court in Kalyan in Thane district which remanded them to police custody till November 3.
The four labourers travelling to their hometown in Uttar Pradesh and the assailants stated to be 10 to 12 in number boarded the train on October 28 afternoon at Khopoli in Raigad district, the last station on the suburban line of Central Railways, police said. Following the argument over seats the group assaulted the labourers and hit and kicked them, they said.
"In the case of Dharam Dev, there were no external injury marks but the post-mortem report has said he died due to shock from liver laceration," Raghuvanshi said.
The post-mortem report also stated that Dharam Dev had a slightly enlarged liver, Raghuvanshi said.
After seeing the labourer fall unconscious following the physical assault, the group of local residents alighted at Dolavali station, police said.
With the assistance of other passengers, the group of labourers called the railway police helpline and alighted with Dharam Dev at Badlapur. He was taken to a local hospital where he was declared dead on arrival, police said.
The six arrests made on Thursday were done on the basis of eye-witness accounts of the other members of Dharam Dev's group and information from sources, Raghuvanshi said. "More arrests are likely in the coming days," he said.
Of the six arrested, Waghmare is from Khalapur village, Palande and Thombre hail from Mankavli village and Ajay, Sanjay and Ketan hail from the Navandhe village. All are located in Raigad district.
Ajay and Sanjay are students of the Janata Junior College in Khopoli, police said. Palande and Thombre are farmers, they said.
Waghmare is employed as a security guard while Ketan is employed with a firm, police said.
All six have been charged with murder, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult with intent to provoke beach of peace and criminal intimidation under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
"The cremation of Dharam Dev was conducted on Wednesday at Ulhasnagar by the group of persons with him and we believe they may have left for their home in UP," a senior railway police official said.