8 booked for disrupting Dalit groom’s wedding procession in Panchkula village
Apr 11, 2025 09:36 AM IST
The Dalit community’s demand for swift action and the arrest of the accused led to a gherao of the local police station, which compelled the police to register the FIRs. The first FIR was lodged based on a complaint of a groom (23) from Ambala against eight people who are residents of Mauli village.
In a recent incident at Mauli village in Raipur Rani, a Dalit’s wedding procession was reportedly halted, accompanied by “casteist remarks and attacks”, prompting local police to register two separate FIRs on Wednesday (April 9) against 11 people. The station house officer (SHO) of Raipur Rani, Sombir Dhaka, confirmed the registration of the FIRs and stated that the matter is under investigation, though no arrests have been made so far.
The Dalit community’s demand for swift action and the arrest of the accused led to a gherao of the local police station, which compelled the police to register the FIRs.
The first FIR was lodged based on a complaint of a groom (23) from Ambala against eight people who are residents of Mauli village.
He stated in his complaint that his marriage was fixed with a girl residing in Mauli village. He was to arrive in the village on April 6 for the ‘ghudchadi’ (groom’s procession on horseback). Some upper-caste residents of the same village learnt about this and allegedly threatened his father-in-law. They took him to a place on a motorcycle where around 200 upper caste people were there. They threatened him that if his son-in-law rode a horse, he would not be allowed to enter the village. They also used casteist remarks. Consequently, his father-in-law filed a police complaint on March 28.
Police were deployed there on April 6. However, the complainant further said that some upper caste individuals reportedly stopped the carriage driver and assaulted him. The police were informed, but he was attacked again along with some other people who were part of the wedding procession. The accused threatened to shoot the groom if he arrived on a horse. An FIR was registered on the complaint of the groom, a resident of Ambala, against eight persons under sections 3(1)(s) of SC/ST Act and 115, 126, and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
22-year-old woman files plaint, 3 booked
In the second incident, a 22-year-old woman from the Scheduled Caste community in her complaint to the police stated that while returning home from college with a friend and her aunt on April 8, they were stopped by two women and a youth from an upper caste community. The accused allegedly said, “You did wrong by taking out the groom’s procession on horseback.” They also used casteist slurs and issued threats to them. Subsequently, the complainant and her friend’s clothes were reportedly torn, and they were molested by the male accused. Her aunt was also subjected to verbal abuse with casteist remarks. In this FIR, a case has been registered under sections 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and 126, 3(5), 351(2), and 74 of the BNS against three accused.
DCP orders temporary police post in village
Following the tense situation in the village, Panchkula DCP Himadree Kaushik on Thursday visited there and reviewed the law and order situation. The DCP ordered the establishment of a temporary police post in the village. As many as 100 police personnel have been deployed in the village and are monitoring the situation. Seven checkpoints have been set up within the village and its borders. Deployment of officers was also ensured.
