Dalit’s wedding procession stopped

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 26, 2023

Vadodara : The wedding procession of a Dalit groom could not proceed to the marriage venue, allegedly due to the ruckus created by some members of the upper-caste community in a village of Anand district.

Laxman Kalabhai Valmiki, 52, a resident of Khorwad village of Umreth taluka, has registered a complaint with Khambolaj police station against three people, alleging that the marriage procession of the groom which had come from Vadodara to the village on Thursday afternoon was stopped by some members of the Darbar community who allegedly hurled caste-based remarks and threatened members of the Valmiki community.

According to the complainant, Vadodara-based Bharat Natha Solanki, had organized his younger daughter Jagruti’s marriage in his native village on Thursday.

Jagruti’s in-laws had taken out a marriage procession that reached Khorwad at around 12.30 pm where the groom along with others from the in-law’s side were supposed to undergo marriage rituals near a milk dairy located near Ashapura temple.

However, when the bride’s relatives reached the adjacent lane to welcome them, along with the DJ, they saw the three accused objecting to the procession. The accused have been identified as Dharmendrasinh Thakor, his son and their relative Sandeep Bhetasiwalla.

The accused allegedly stopped the procession on the grounds that only members of the Darbar community can take out such marriage processions from the area. When the complainant tried to convince the accused that the marriage procession should be allowed to reach the marriage venue, Sandeep allegedly started beating the complainant.

When another relative tried to intervene in the melee, he was also beaten up by the accused. Later, when other residents of the Valmiki faliya (lane) intervened, the trio threatened them as well. The procession was stopped at the spot.

Residents of Valmiki faliya convinced the groom and his relatives to bring closure to the ruckus and the marriage rituals were completed by late evening. The complainant has registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Courtesy : Times of india

Note: This news piece was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights