Rajkot: A 27-year-old man belonging from Dalit community was dragged down from horse in his wedding procession, he was thrown casteist slurs and allegedly beaten up in Saripada village, some 12 km from Palanpur on Sunday. The victim was Aakash Kotiya (Parmar), an army jawan, going to Sundha village in the wedding procession.
11 people as of now are booked under Prevention of Atrocities Against SCs & STs Act following a complaint lodged by Aakash’s granduncle Khema Kotiya.
The complaint states, the accused on Sunday went to Kotiya’s house on learning that his family was planning to take out Aakash’s marriage procession on a horse. After hurling casteist slurs at them, they allegedly threatened to shoot the groom if he went on a horse.
Khema told Gadh police in his complaint, “They told us that we had to take birth as upper caste people if we wanted to ride a horse. I pleaded with them that Aakash is an orphan and they allow the marriage procession to pass off peacefully, but they did not budge from their stand,”
Some members have also been accused of pelting stone on the procession members a man named Hira Sekhaliya, a resident of Saambhi and woman Kusum Parmar of Ankodi were injured severely in the incident.
Stones are also reported to have damaged the DJ sound system, besides hurting a few other women who were playing Garba in the venue, he said.
Dalpat Bhatia, president of Dalit Samaj of Banaskantha district said that the wedding celebrations were subjected to objections from day one.
According to TOI, Ranveer Bhatia, a Dalit activist said that they had to seek police protection apprehending troubles on the wedding route besides harm on the baraatis after the upper caste people had already warned them not to take the procession through a particular street in the village.
