UP Dalit family thrashed for running wedding ceremony in hall

Ballia/UP: A Dalit family was thrashed by a mob for holding a wedding ceremony in an auditorium in Uttar Pradesh’s Rasra on Friday. Two people were seriously injured in the thrashing, according to a complaint. Police said that a group of people armed with sticks entered the hall where the wedding was being held on Friday night and attacked them. The complaint stated that the Dalits were asked if they would hold a wedding in a hall and got thrashed, national media reported. The complainant is Raghavendra Gautam, the brother of one of the victims.

The main accused in the incident are Aman Sahni, Deepak Sahni, Rahul and Akhilesh. Around 20 unidentified persons are also among the accused. It is alleged that the accused made caste-based insults and opposed the use of the wedding hall by members of the Dalit community for the ceremony. A case has been registered under sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of the Indian Penal Code. Vipin Singh, in-charge of Rasra police station, said that an investigation is underway.

Deccan Herald reported that police informed they are putting their best efforts into catching the assailants, though no arrests have been made so far. This is not the first incident of atrocities against Dalits in the recent past in the BJP-ruled state. A few days back, alleged members of the upper caste forced a Dalit groom to get down from a horse during his wedding in the Agra district. The groom was assaulted along with the wedding guests, the DC reports stated.