Punjab: Dalits turned away from upper caste food counter in Bathinda
As per Sukhdeep Kaur of Maluka village, who is a dalit, one Raghbir Singh of the same village had organised a function to mark Teej festival on August 7 and different food stalls had been set up. When she went to one of the counters and picked up a plate to serve herself, one Kuldeep Kaur snatched the plate from her, saying that this place was not meant for them and separate eating arrangements had been made for people from Scheduled Castes. The same treatment was meted out to Manpreet Kaur and Sandeep Kaur, also dalits. The host even made an announcement regarding the separate arrangements for SCs from the stage. Feeling slighted, the women decided to raise their voice against this discrimination. Sukhdeep Kaur alleged that some people even threatened them of dire consequences, but they decided to approach the police and made a formal complaint.
