A 35-year-old man was killed, at least 16 persons were left injured and 25 houses torched after clashes erupted between members of the Dalit and Thakur communities in Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The clashes broke out on May 5 following a dispute over a procession in memory of Rajpur ruler Maharana Pratap.
According to an Indian Express report, officials said that the clash was the latest incident in a three-month-old dispute between the two communities over the installation of an Ambedkar statue in the village. The report suggests that while Shabbirpur is dominated by Dalits, the neighbouring Simlana village is a stronghold of Thakurs.
All the injured were taken to local hospital for treatment and the deceased was identified as Sumit Rajput of Rasoolpur village. All the houses torched were those of Dalits in Shabbirpur, they said.
”Sumit had gone to Simlana to take part in a function to garland the statue of Maharana Pratap. His autopsy report states that there were no injury marks on his body and that death was caused by suffocation,” said the police.
Four separate FIRs have been lodged against Dalits in Shabbirpur on different charges, including murder and attempt to murder, on the basis of complaints lodged by Thakurs. No arrests have been made so far.
Shabbirpur village pradhan Shiv Kumar and his brothers are among the accused, said police. Notably, no complaint has been received so far from members of the Dalit community in the village.
Subhash Chandra Dubey, SSP (Saharanpur), said tension rose in Shabbirpur after Thakurs in the village moved towards Simlana in a procession, with loud music, to attend the function. The procession was organised without official permission, he said.
