“Gay” Murder In India
Indian police may have a gay panic case on their hands.
Coppers arrested 18-year old Kalpesh Patel this week for the murder
of 35-year old Mohan Patel, with whom he has no familial relation.
Kalpesh admitted to killing the older man, but claims he was simply defending
himself from Mohan’s sexual advances:
On Monday night, Mohan asked him to accompany him to
the Natraj theatre for some work. On finding a deserted place, Mohan
asked him to have a homosexual relationship with him. On his refusal,
Mohan threatened to kill him and even slapped and punched and later
tried to rip his clothes. On finding no way to escape, Kalpesh took a
stone lying on the ground and inflicted repeated wounds on Mohan’s head
before escaping from the spot. Mahidharpura police inspector A R Desai
said, “We have arrested Kalpesh. This teenage boy was forced to have a
homosexual relationship with Mohan, who stays with his wife and
children and works in the diamond firm in Katargam. During
investigation we talked to some of the employees of Khodiar Krupa
diamond firm and his friends and learnt that Mohan was into homosexual
relationship with several [other] people.”
We can’t say whether or not young Patel’s telling the truth - we’re
not psychic - but it would be a great motive: Indian law continues to
marginalize the gays, a legal leftover from the colonial days.
