An innocent horse at a Dalit wedding procession succumbed to injuries it had sustained during a stone pelting incident at Khambhisar village of Modasa tehsil in Aravalli district.
After the death of the horse, police have added Section 429 of IPC to the FIR against 43 ‘upper caste’ accused. The 43 accused include 16 women and 27 men, all from the Patidar community.
The incident occurred on May 12 when a group of ‘upper caste’ people allegedly resorted to stone pelting at the wedding procession of a Dalit man who was riding on a horse in the village. The complainant claimed that the accused allegedly resorted to unprovoked stone pelting at the procession and abused the Dalits in an attempt to stop the wedding procession.
Police have recorded a statement of the horse owner – Kesrisinh Chauhan , resident of Vanta-Rampur village. The horse died after staying under medical supervision since May 12.
Also read: Gujarat: Dalit groom rides horse on his wedding, community faces social boycott
According to a report by Indian Express, the lawyer of the complainant has cited the death of the horse before a district court while opposing anticipatory bail to the 43 accused.
The court eventually rejected the bail applications of all the accused. In fact, there is no provision of anticipatory bail in the atrocity Act. While the bail petitions have been rejected, the accused are yet to be arrested.
