Dalits flee village after attack by upper castes

Gurugram: More than two dozen Dalit families in Mirchpur village in Hisar were allegedly forced to flee their homes on Tuesday afternoon after nine persons from their community were beaten up, allegedly by upper caste members. Four of the accused have been arrested.

The incident comes nearly seven years after caste-based violence in the village claimed the lives two Dalits — Tara Chand (70) and his teenage polio-stricken daughter Suman.

Several other persons from their community were injured when their houses were set afire by some members of the Jat community. A total of 15 accused in the case were convicted by the Rohini court, which completed the trial in just over nine months.

The fresh spell of violence erupted on Monday evening over a minor altercation between two groups of teenagers during a function in the village. Of the nine injured Dalits, eight are being treated at Civil Hospital, Hisar, while one has been referred to Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha.

“A boy belonging to the Dalit community had recently won a 1600-metre bicycle race and was being harassed by the members of the upper castes since. They taunted him again during the function on Monday and the matter escalated. The boy was brutally beaten up and others from the community were also thrashed when they came to his rescue,” advocate Rajat Kalsan told The Hindu over the phone from Hisar. Mr. Kalsan had represented the Dalit families in the previous case at Rohini court.

Mr. Kalsan alleged that the State government was not serious about the security of Dalits and had withdrawn the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops deployed in the area a month ago.

Source: The Hindu