Uneasy calm today prevailed in a Haryana village, two days after upper caste people stopped a Dalit groom from visiting a temple during his wedding procession and pelted the marriage party and a police team with stones.
The groom's father, Suresh Kumar, in a complaint filed at Jhansa police station has alleged that about 25 people led by a block samiti member threatened to kill them if they entered their temple and stopped the groom from riding a horse-carriage.
A police contingent has been deployed in Bhusthala village of the district as a precautionary measure.
Twenty one upper caste persons were booked by the police under relevant provisions of law including the SC/ST Act but no arrests have been made so far.
"Upper caste people prevented a Dalit groom from riding a horse-cart during his marriage procession in Kurukshetra's Bhusthala village on Saturday night, leading to a clash between the two communities," SP Kurukshetra Simmardeep Singh said yesterday.
The family of the groom Sandeep, that had returned from Yamunanagar last night after solemnising the marriage, today confined themselves to their home, fearing retaliation.
Members of the Dalit community, meanwhile, met a member of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Ishwar Singh.
Singh visited the village along with Simmardeep, the Pehowa Sub-divisional Magistrate and other district administration officers today.
Narrating the sequence of events, Sandeep's cousin Subhash Balmik told Singh that tension gripped the village immediately after a horse-drawn chariot reached there on the evening of May 21, to carry the groom to a nearby temple as part of 'Mandha' ritual.
He said a few youths belonging to upper castes came to their house to warn them against performing the ritual.
They later announced on temple loudspeakers that whosoever tried to ride horse chariot or visit their temple would be eliminated, Balmik said.
According to him, the youths said as per village traditions, only grooms from upper castes can ride horse during marriage ceremony.
Subhash said it was only after the arrival of police that
Sandeep could go to the Ravi Dass temple which was under construction. Even during this, some youth pelted stones on them injuring many including one policeman.
The father of the groom also claimed that it was not for the first time that such an incident had happened in the village, adding that SC families in the village live under constant fear lest any of their actions annoy the upper castes.
He said that his father Aanat Ram was allegedly beaten by upper caste persons in the year 1998 as he had put up electric lights at his house on the occasion of Diwali. Aanant succumbed to his injuries after a month, he said.
Describing it as curbing of fundamental rights of Dalits, Singh directed the Superintendent of Police to ensure safety of the community members.
He directed that a PCR be deployed in the village and if need arises, a temporary police post be created there till normalisation of the situation.
Singh also asked the SP to ensure the arrest of the accused persons within next 24 hours to assuage the fears of Dalits and directed district authorities to arrange compensation to the victims as per rules.
Giving out figures, Singh claimed that Haryana has the maximum number of Dalit atrocity cases compared to other states of north India.
