A pre-wedding procession by a Dalit family was attacked in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, allegedly by people from an upper caste community, on Sunday night after the Scheduled Caste groom rode a mare during the traditional ‘Bindoli’ ceremony a day before his wedding.
Three or four people were injured in the attack, and people from the Dalit communities said although they had sought police help, police personnel stood mute witness during the attack.
Denying the charge of inaction, Additional SP (Headquarter), Bhilwara Paras Jain said, “We have taken seven people under preventive custody. They will be arrested later under relevant Sections (of law).” Jain said FIR has been lodged under IPC Sections including 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) along with Sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The incident took place in Bhilwara’s Gordhan Pura village, around 160 km northeast of Udaipur. Bhanwar Lal Regar, 24, whose younger brother, Uday Lal, was riding the mare during the ceremony, said that in 2010 a similar procession before his elder brother’s wedding was stopped by upper caste villagers.
He said, “The police watched silently as the men, armed with sticks, stones and axes, beat us. They also misbehaved with women who were in the procession and tore their clothes.”