After a clash between Thakurs and Dalits in Saharanpur that left a youth dead and several families were rendered homeless after their huts were torched, yet another clash took place in Etah on Monday.
Fortunately, the cops reached on time which transformed the clash between two caste groups to one between Dalits and men in khaki. The two groups fought a pitched battle for over an hour resulting in injury to over a dozen people including five policemen.
later senior officers rushed to the spot with additional force and chased away the trouble makers. Two persons were arrested by the police later in the afternoon.
As per reports, members of a Dalit community reached Bhudnagariya hamlet of Sarkauli area to set up a statue of Dr Ambedkar on Mondaymorning. Soon after, members of an upper caste also cconverged at the site and protested the move. Since the Dalits did not take permission for the installation, the cops too reached the spot and dittoed the objection by upper caste members.
The situation took an ugly turn when the cops tried to force the Dalits to disperse and started removing Dr Ambedkar’s statue from the site. This incensed the Dalit community members who started taregeting the polic with missiles, in which Circle Officer and ADM of Jalesar along with five cops were injured.
To defuse the situation, the police cane charged the marauding mob which caused injuries to several prsons. The injured were shifted to a hospital and heavy police force was deployed to avert any further clash.
SSP, Saytharth Anil Pankaj said that the situation was tense nut under control. He said that the statue was handed over to a community while two persons were arrested for the violence. “Additional forces have been deployed in the village even though peace was prevailing there amid tense situation,” he claimed.