Dalit constable’s baraat attacked, groom forced off horse

Meerut: A Dalit constable’s wedding procession was allegedly attacked by upper caste men, who objected to loud DJ music and vandalised the vehicle, pelted stones, forced the groom off his horse, and injured several guests in Bulandshahr, police said on Sunday, adding that they have filed an FIR, detained five suspects, and launched an investigation is the case.

The groom, Robin Singh, 31, a PAC constable posted in Ghaziabad, was marrying another constable from Lakhawati on Monday. His father, Nandram Singh, the baraat was passing through Titona village in the Jahangirabad area around 8pm when the procession was stopped by 20-25 upper caste men from the Thakur community.

Nandram said, “They objected to the baraat passing through their area with DJ music. They pelted stones at us, forcibly pulled my son off the horse, and vandalised the DJ vehicle. Some guests sustained injuries in the attack. My son narrowly escaped serious harm,”.

Robin said some attackers had attended his engagement ceremony. “I recognised a few of them from my engagement. They misbehaved with women in the procession, saying a Dalit baraat should not pass through their area. They also thrashed the DJ driver and destroyed equipment. We had to return home with the baraat and later went by car to the bride’s house. All the excitement of the wedding was ruined. Everything was planned, but it all went to waste due to this violence,” Robin told TOI.

SP (rural) Rohit Mishra said, “This was a fight over loud DJ music during the baraat. Five suspects have been detained, and others are being identified. Appropriate action will follow the investigation.”

An FIR has been registered under multiple sections of the BNS, including section 191(2) for rioting, section 126(2) for preventing someone from moving freely, section 324(4) for mischief, and section 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt. Additionally, charges under section 352 for intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of trust and provisions of the SC/ST Act under section 3(2)(b)(a) have also been invoked.

Courtesy: Times Of India

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