Caste men attack Dalit wedding process for groom taking on a mare in Agra
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Agra: In another incident of the upper caste men attacking the Dalit wedding procession has been reported in Agra in Uttar Pradesh where the groom’s riding on a mare agitated the men who also threw casteist slurs at the wedding party.
According to The Indian Express report, a group of upper caste men, mainly Thakurs waylaid the procession on the night of May 4 and forced the groom to get down from the mare before beating the groom and his members of the entourage.
In a complaint to the Police, the victims of the caste men’s attack said that a group of men of 20 to 25 blocked their way when they were passing through the Sohalla Jatav Basti that comes under the Sadar Bazar police station of the city.
The FIR filed by Geeta Jatav, the mother-in-law of the groom, on May 8 stated that the attackers questioned their right to ride a mare to the wedding, stating that Dalit grooms in their village do not do so.
Geeta Jatav further stated that they attempted to file the FIR at the area police station on May 5 but were not assisted by the police. They then contacted Agra police Commissioner Dr Pritinder Singh, who instructed them to file the report on May 8.
She also demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits responsible for disrupting the wedding of her daughter, Anjana, in a conversation with The Indian Express over the phone.
The police have registered a named FIR against five individuals and 20 unidentified people under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The individuals named in the FIR are Yogesh Thakur, Rahul Kumar, Sonu Thakur, Kunal, and Shishupal. Archana Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sadar Bazar, stated that they have filed the report and are conducting raids to apprehend the culprits, but no arrests have been made thus far.