Dalits threaten to leave Khattar’s native village

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, September 13

Members of the Dalit community from Baniyani, the native village of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, have threatened to leave the village and launch a stir if the upper-caste persons accused of assaulting their community members were not arrested within 24 hours.

A number of Dalits assembled at the house of the Deputy Commissioner today and conveyed their concerns to him. The DC assured them that the accused would be arrested soon.

Members of the Dalit community maintained that a tense atmosphere was prevailing at the village following the clash.

The local police authorities have said efforts were being made to arrest the accused. A village peace committee had also been activated to resolve the stalemate between the two communities.

A Duty Magistrate as well as a heavy posse of police personnel have also been deployed at the village to prevent any untoward incident.

The district administration as well as police authorities are in a fix as the situation appears to be normal till policemen and administrative officials are camping at the village but the possibility of fresh clashes cannot be ruled out after their withdrawal.

The case

A village girl studying in Class XI at the village government school had complained that her classmate, who belongs to the same village, had been teasing her. Her family members had gone to lodge a complaint with the police, but the boy’s family members reached there and sought a compromise.

A panchayat was later organised at the village to settle the matter, but a clash broke out between members of the two sides. The family members and other supporters of the boy, who belongs to a Dalit community, alleged that some young members of the girl’s side had assaulted them and pelted them with stones.