Violent protests erupted in various parts of Haryana on Monday during a nationwide bandh called by Dalit outfits against the dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, leaving several persons including security personnel injured and disrupting normal life in the State.
Despite the deployment of police forces to thwart any untoward incident during the agitation, the dalit protestors turned violent destroying and damaging Government and private property, blocked trains and forcibly shut down shops in various parts of Haryana.
Incidents of violence were reported from Faridabad, Bhiwani, Karnal, Hisar, Yamunanagar, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad among other places. At several places, mob clashed with police personnel who had to resort to firing in the air, lathicharge and used tear-gas shells to disperse the protestors.
The protest was called by dalit organisations across the country against the recent Supreme Court ruling diluting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.
Protest marches were taken out by dalit activists at Panchkula, Ambala, Kaithal, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, Yamunanagar, Bhiwani, Sirsa, Faridabad, Gurugram, Jind, Fatehabad in Haryana as well as in Chandigarh.
Shouting slogans of Jai Bhim, hundreds of protestors were seen carrying swords, sticks, baseball bats and flags during the protest marches. They burnt effigies of the NDA-led Centre, alleging it had failed to protect the interests of the Dalits.
Markets across the state wore a deserted look as shops and other commercial establishments remained closed due to agitation.
At Kaithal in Haryana, a protesting mob resorted to stone pelting and damaged a railway engine, police said. Prior to that, they protestors had marched through the streets after which there were some reports of alleged vandalism at Kaithal.
The Kaithal Police resorted to lathicharge and lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters. Around 10 policemen were injured in the incident, said police officials.
In Karnal, protesters held up a train for several hours, with some climbing over its roof while others squatted on the track while at Bhiwani and Faridabad, protesters barged into shopping malls to force their closure.
Protests also turned violent in Faridabad, where a train was reportedly pelted with stones and several vehicles were vandalized. The protesters also blocked the Ambala-Hisar highway near Ambala City and NH-1 near Ambala Cantt for about an hour.
In Hisar, the Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar attended the State level chowkidar Sammelan as dalits resorted to a demonstration, leading to a complete bandh in the town while in Panipat, the Insar market was closed and traffic was disrupted as the protests occurred on NH-1.
In view of the ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by dalit organisations, the neighboring Congress-led Punjab Government had ordered closure of educational institutions, suspended bus services, and mobile internet services but there were no such orders to shut schools or suspend bus services in Haryana.
Prohibitory orders were clamped at some places in Haryana but the protestors thronged the streets in large numbers disrupting road and rail traffic in various parts.
Notably, the Supreme Court had on March 20 "diluted" certain provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases.
The verdict was criticised by the dalits and the opposition, who claimed this could lead to more discrimination and crimes against the community.
In Haryana, the opposition-Congress and Indian National lok Dal had extended their support to the dalit organizations.
Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar on Monday said that the BJP has failed to protect the dalits and the community is forced to hold protests. The Government should address the grievances of the community, he added.
Notably, a delegation of senior Haryana BJP leaders including MP Ratan lal Kataria, Transport Minister Krishan lal Panwar, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Krishan Kumar Bedi, SC Morcha Haryana BJP, Ramavtar Balmiki among others had last week met Chief Minister Manohar lal asking him to urge the Central Government to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.