Bhopal: The house of a Dalit bridegroom was attacked and abuses hurled at his family members allegedly by a group of upper caste people in Madhya Pradesh late Sunday, the police said.
The incident occurred in a village in Sagar district where a groom going in a wedding procession took a round of his village on horseback, which did not go down well with some people belonging to the upper caste and they pelted stones at the groom’s house.
Police said that it was the first time that a Dalit groom rode a horse in Ganiyari, a village dominated by upper caste Lodhi Thakur community. The groom’s family was aware that a Dalit bridegroom riding a horse may not be tolerated by the upper caste people in the village and therefore, the bridegroom had asked the police to provide security during the procession.
The groom rode on the horse in the presence of the police in daytime. After a few hours when the bridegroom left for the bride’s home in Katni district, some members of the Lodhi Thakur community allegedly attacked his home by pelting stones. They also allegedly assaulted family members, police said.
Police said an FIR has been registered at Bunda police station and six people have been arrested. The FIR names eight people and lists 15 others unnamed. “Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident,” Town inspector, Bunda police station, Manas Dwivedi, said.
However, the police also claimed that a clash broke out between two families over electric wires. “A few members of the Thakur community objected to the crossing of wires from their area and attacked Dilip Ahirwar’s home in an inebriated state,” Inspector Dwivedi added.
Devendra Ahirwar, the groom’s father, told the police that members of the upper caste community threatened that no other man from the Ahirwar community will ride a horse again.
On Tuesday, state home minister Narottam Mishra told the press that he has directed the Sagar district police to investigate the matter and take strict action against those guilty of pelting stones at the groom’s house.