Two Dalit men, who are brothers, were allegedly assaulted over a dispute while drinking water from a pot at a wedding in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani.
A complaint has been filed by one of the brothers, but an FIR is yet to be registered, with police saying that they are probing the matter.
According to the complaint filed by Umesh Tamta, his brother Shubham and relatives Rakesh Arya and Ajay Arya were at a wedding in Deval Malla village to operate the DJ system on Sunday night. At one point, Rakesh Arya went to drink water from a pot when the family of the groom allegedly targeted him.
“They asked him why he was there and slapped him. After he informed my brother that he had been assaulted by the family, Shubham went to the house to confront them. He slapped one of the youths there, and in retribution, the man gathered his uncle and friends and started attacking Shubham and hurling casteist abuses,” Tamta told The Indian Express.
Shubham was allegedly kicked in the face and body, and is currently hospitalised. When Tamta was informed of the incident, he went to the spot and was allegedly hit on the head with a sharp weapon. “I asked them why they were beating up my brother. They claimed that Shubham had hit their brother and struck me with a rod. While my head was bleeding, another man tried to strangle me. I was begging them to stop, and it seemed like I was taking in my last breath when someone intervened and made them stop. They also called us slurs during the altercation,” Tamta alleged.
While Tamta has a head injury, his brother has a fracture in his spine, the family claimed. The duo has been admitted to a private hospital in the city. The complaint has sought action under sections of attempted murder and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Following the incident, locals and Tamta’s family protested in front of the police station, demanding the arrest of the individuals involved.
Police said they are undertaking an inquiry into the events and have received a counter-complaint from the other party, alleging that their mother was injured in the attack. Kathgodam police station personnel said that four men were detained under section 172 of the BNSS. “We are probing the incident and have collected the statements of both parties. We are enquiring what caused the incident and if the violence was caste-based,” he said.
