35 communities oppose arm licences to Dalits in Mirchpur

Rohtak: At a time when the Hisar administration claimed to have sorted out the recent dispute between Jats and Dalits in Mirchpur village, members of 35 communities on Tuesday threatened to launch a stir if the Dalits were issued arms licences.
The matter was raised during a panchayat attended by every community members, except the Dalits.
Jat youths and others had thrashed some Dalits on January 30 during a cycle show in Mirchpur village. Police had registered a case against nine persons and arrested four — two from Jat community and one each from Brahmin and Lohar communities.
Ramphal Dinodiya who attended the panchayat, said, “The administration has promised to issue arms licence to the Dalit community of Mirchpur, based on the assumption that they fear the villagers.” He said either the administration should issue arms licences to all communities without discriminating on the basis of caste or not grant licences at all.

Mirchpur sarpanch Satyawan Singh alleged the police and civil administration had taken action only on the complaint of Dalits. “It was a dispute between youths of both communities, but many residents of the village were under police radar and they fear arrest,” Singh said.

He said issuance of arms licences would escalate the already tensed situation in the village and a battalion of police was already deployed to ensure their security. He said the panchayat has installed CCTV cameras around Dalit colony in the village to produce evidence in case of any future dispute.

Tejbhan Chauhan, the complainant in the case, who also sustained injuries in the clash, said 15 persons of the Dalit community had applied for arms licences due to security reasons. Advocate Rajat Kalsan, who is fighting the Dalits’ case in the Mirchpur dispute, also lodged a complaint that he received a threat recently.

Hisar deputy commissioner Nikhil Gajraj said they had received a representation in the matter from residents of Mirchpur and they would look into it.

Source: The Times of India