100 men Attack Dalit Groom’s House in MP for Riding Horse, 6 held

Bhopal: Six so-called upper-caste men have been arrested for attacking the house of a dalit groom who rode a horse during the wedding procession in Ganiyari village, in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, on Sunday.

Sensing backlash from the Lodhi Thakur community for being the first dalit in the village to ride a horse, Dilip Ahirwar (27) took out the wedding procession under police protection to perform puja in nearby Ravidas temple hours before the attack, according to the police.

More than 100 dalit families stay in the village, which is dominated by the Lodhi Thakur community, categorised as an Other Backward Class, the police said.

Oblivious of the impending attack, Ahirwar and his wedding party of 80-plus guests departed the temple for Katni town to attend the marriage. Minutes after a power outage around 8:30 pm, his house was hit by a volley of stones. Soon, a group of more than 100 men armed with sticks barged in, assaulted the family members and damaged a car parked outside the house, his family alleged.

“They not only attacked our house but also assaulted a 60-year-old widow and vandalised the canopy,” said Permod Ahirwar (25), who was injured during the attack. After he complained at the Bunda Police Station police, a first information report (FIR) under six sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered and six people were arrested.

Eight people and 15 others unnamed have been named in the FIR. “Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident and dozens were booked after the home of a dalit bridegroom was attacked in Sagar,” state home minister Narottam Mishra reporters in Bhopal on Tuesday morning.

However, brushing aside the allegations of dalit oppression, Bunda Police Station-in-charge Manas Dwivedi told Newsclick over the phone that two families had clashed over electric wires. “Dilip’s house was attacked by a few members of the Lodhi community in an inebriated state over the crossing of electric wires from their area,” he said.

However, brushing aside the allegations of dalit oppression, Bunda Police Station-in-charge Manas Dwivedi told Newsclick over the phone that two families had clashed over electric wires. “Dilip’s house was attacked by a few members of the Lodhi community in an inebriated state over the crossing of electric wires from their area,” he said.

Dharmendra, district president, Bhim Army, told Newsclick that Ahirwar had sought protection from the police and the Bhim Army to prevent any untoward incident during the procession. “A group of 100 Bhim Army members had been deployed at Dilip’s village to support him. His house was attacked by upper-caste villagers at night.”

Sensing backlash by the Lodhi Thakurs, Ahirwar’s father Devendra (55) had submitted an application mentioning the threat at the Bunda Police Station a day before the wedding. “He had gone to the temple on horseback to perform rituals,” he told Newsclick. Despite the FIR, members of the upper caste threatened him saying that “no other man from the Ahirwar community will ever ride a horse again in this village”, Devendra alleged.

Devendra’s allegation of threats is not baseless. “Around 500 km from Sagar, in Neemuch district of Manasa Tehsil, a bridegroom has invited members of the Bhim Army fearing backlash from upper-caste men for planning to ride a horse,” tweeted dalit rights activist Sunil Astay after getting an invite from Neemuch, where upper-caste men of Sarsi village have threatened a bridegroom for planning to ride a horse to his wedding on January 27.

Union minister of state for food processing Prahlad Patel, member of Parliament from neighbouring Damoh constituency, met with members of both the communities on Monday evening and assured justice to the Ahirwar family. He refused to comment to the media after the visit.