Tribals body meets Gaddi community in Dharamsala

Dharamsala, August 19

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) on Saturday met members of Gaddi community in Himachal Pradesh in the wake of reports of lathicharge on the community on August 9 here.

"The commission met the Gaddi community people and others in Dharamsala. We also met police personnel and officials of the state government as well as visited the incident site. The photographs and video clips of the alleged incident have also been collected," NCST chief Nand Kumar Sai told reporters here.

The Gaddi community, a scheduled tribe in the hill state, had alleged that they were lathicharged after they tried to block the cavalcade of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here on August 9. The community had been protesting against the chief minister over his alleged remarks against the Gaddis.

The commission also met district police officers and Dharamsala DGP in this regard.

Sai said the police personnel had refuted reports of lathicharge on the community members.

"However, we will probe the matter from all angles and strict action will be taken against those found guilty of committing atrocities on Gaddis," he said.

The official also dismissed allegations of the ruling Congress that the commission was "politicising" the issue. — PTI