Road widening dispute in Telangana took communal form, 20 Dalits including 2 children attacked, case registered against 29 people under IPC sections
AuthorDalit Times
Videos of the attack show that the situation was tense, with the mob taking over the church and women screaming for help. Some policemen present at the spot seemed unable to control the situation….
Telangana news: The matter is from Telangana where a communal attack took place on Tuesday. At least 20 Dalits, including 2 children, were injured in this attack. Actually the dispute was related to widening of the road. But the attackers raised slogans of Jai Shri Ram and attacked the Dalits while they were praying in the church. Know what was the whole matter.
Attack while raising slogans of Jai Shri Ram
At least 20 Dalits, including two children, were injured in a communal attack at Janwada village in Telangana’s Rangareddy district on Tuesday, February 13. A 200-member mob of influential people from Yadav, Mudiraj and Other Backward Class (BC) groups, allegedly belonging to Hindu extremist group Bajrang Dal, attacked Dalits from the Madiga community over a road widening dispute. The attack took place when Dalits were praying in a church. The victims said that the attackers broke chairs and the roof of the church while raising slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
police statement
According to the police, there was a difference of opinion between Dalit Christians and dominant castes in the village regarding widening of the road in the village. According to Dalits, a road was being built by encroaching on a part of the church land. Concrete cement road (CC) was being laid near the main junction in Janwada village at around 7 pm on Wednesday evening. At the same time, some members of the church praying inside objected to this and said that the work of laying the road should remain within the existing width.
Angered by this, former Congress Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) member Talasari Maisa, who is in-charge of road construction works, allegedly used casteist slurs and abused Dalits. Soon, the situation deteriorated and around 200 people belonging to dominant caste groups attacked the church, raising slogans of Jai Shri Ram. The victims said that they picked up stone gravel used in road construction and threw it at the Dalits in the church.
Case registered against 29 accused under IPC sections
Videos of the attack show that the situation was tense, with the mob taking over the church and women screaming for help. Some policemen present at the spot seemed unable to control the situation. Mokila police arrested church head K who was injured in the attack. An FIR has been registered on the basis of Balaiya’s complaint.
According to the FIR, a total of 29 members have been booked under sections 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons) and 149 (member of an unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rioting with deadly weapons. Has been done. Other charges include criminal trespass (447); Mischief causing harm (427); Intentional acts intended to outrage religious beliefs (295-A); Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or instruments (324); Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace (504); criminal threats (506); and unlawful assembly (143). Police also invoked the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Sub Inspector’s statement:
According to Mokila police station sub-inspector B Veerababu, six people, including key accused Talari Maisaiah and Gaudicharla Narasimha, have been arrested, while the rest are absconding.
Following the attack, Dalit Christians protested by blocking the road for a few hours on 14 February.
BSP leader participated in the protest:
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader RS Praveen Kumar participated in the protest and questioned why the arrests were not made until nearly 18 hours later. Janwada village, located in Shankarpalle mandal of Chevella, has a population of about 4000, which is dominated by Yadav, Mudiraj and other BC castes. There are 700 members of SC Madiga living in three colonies, out of which Madiga Christians live in two colonies. There are three churches in the village. According to residents, church elders had informed Talasari Maisa and Gaudicherla Narasimha that the road should not be built through the church property a day before the attack.
Who is behind the attack?
Dalit Christians revealed the names of several dominant caste men who were allegedly behind the attack. This included Veedulakanti Gopal, a Yadav man and Bajrang Dal leader of the village. Gaudicherla Narasimha, husband of Lalita, a former sarpanch of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS); Talari Maisaiah of Mudiraj community; BJP leaders Mothkupalli Krishna and Mokthupalli Srikanth from the Yadav community; And BRS leader Srinu of Kummari community is behind the attack.
What did BSP leader Vijay Arya say?
BSP leader Vijay Arya described the attack as pre-planned. He said, “Around 200 members were involved in the attack. This is an organized violence. Members of the BC caste group used casteist slurs and are filled with hatred towards Dalits who practice Christianity. What irritates them the most is that most of the Dalits are salaried employees working in the IT sector and living a comfortable life. Although former sarpanch Lalitha won with the support of BRS, her husband Gaudicherla Narasimha is associated with the BJP. He has the support of Bajrang Dal members in the village.
Dalit Mahesh’s statement:
“This is not the first time they have attacked Dalits,” said Mahesh, a Dalit resident who works in the IT sector. “This is not the first time they have attacked Dalits,” Mahesh said. “Two Dalit youths attacked the BC caste in the village five years ago. Was married to women. Things turned sour. They (members of BC caste) were waiting for the opportunity. When three Dalit youths were involved in an accident, their families were socially boycotted and the youths were not allowed to enter cricket grounds. He also said that Dalits have never been allowed to enter the Hanuman temple in the village.
