It began as a property dispute, developed into an argument between two groups and snowballed into an inter-community issue. Simmering tension continued to throw life out of gear in Kanawani village of Noida on the third consecutive day.
Amid the exodus of Jatavs, the entire village witnessed a curfew-like situation. People preferred to remain indoors and no one talked to the media fearing backlash from the Gujjar community. Around 25 families of Jatavs were said to have left the village on Thursday. Meanwhile, the police have registered a fresh case against the Gujjars for arson, loot and thrashing women on Thursday.
Tension in the area could be judged from the fact that shops remained closed and families spoke in hushed tones. They had apparently been warned by the bahubalis not to breathe a word despite the Dalits and Gujjars claim there is no history of ill-will in Kanawani and that tensions had erupted “spontaneously” on Monday morning.
Even the heavy presence of police personnel in the village and high ranking officers from the district administration and police attempting to repair ties in the deeply divided village, could not stop the Dalit families from leaving.
A few Jatav families, still living in the area, said they are being threatened to leave the place by the village headman and his henchmen. “People in groups visit our areas, intimidate us into shifting base and thrash our women. When we complained to the police about their audacity, the response was not very forthcoming. A majority of the Dalits (Jatavs) has shifted to greener pastures, only the elderly are stuck here,” rued Bhagatram, a 75-year-old living in Jatav Colony.
“I have been living in the village for decades and was reluctant to vacate. But on Wednesday I was forced out of my home by the brother of the village mukhiya. I approached the police. But seeing how bullheaded they were, I shifted to Patparganj in New Delhi on the very same day. Since the situation shows no signs of improvement, I have decided to sell my property in the village. My neighbours too are planning to trade their property to avoid the wrath of the Gujjars,” said Rajkumar lilothia, an employee with PNB, who hails from the Jatav community.
Meanwhile, the district administration assured of taking measures to resume normalcy and rehabilitate the displaced families. “We have arrested three persons so far. We have deputed senior officials for round-the-clock monitoring of the situation. We are in touch with the 10 families, which had shifted after the fracas,” said Rajesh Yadav, Sub-Divisional-Magistrate (SDM) of Dadri region.
A Dalit family filed a complaint against the Gujjars alleging arson, loot, rioting and harassing its womenfolk. Ramvati, mother of Subhash Chand Sidharth, owner of Sidharth Public School, which was razed, had lodged the complaint. Subhash Chand, who is absconding, is also named in the FIR registered by the Gujjars.