Aligarh: 11 booked over alleged casteist remarks against Valmiki community
Eleven people were booked in Aligarh on Thursday for allegedly making derogatory and casteist remarks against members of the Valmiki community during an anti-reservation protest earlier this week, police said. The case was registered at Bannadevi police station following a complaint by Nitin Valmiki, district president of the Aazad Party.
Among those named in the case are Gau Raksha Dal leader Sundar Singh Raghav and his brother Sachin Raghav. According to the complaint, activists associated with the Gau Raksha Dal allegedly made objectionable remarks against the Valmiki community during Monday’s protest. The alleged remarks later circulated on social media, the complainant said.
Police said the accused have been booked under Section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, pertaining to intentional insult, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The development comes a day after Sachin Raghav was allegedly assaulted by a group of people while he was on the road near the State Bank of India’s main branch in the Civil Lines area. Police registered a separate case against more than 100 unidentified people in connection with the alleged assault. CCTV footage and other electronic evidence are being examined to identify those involved.
SSP Neeraj Kumar said several people had been arrested since Thursday morning based on CCTV footage. Police are continuing their search for the remaining accused in both cases and have said action will be taken against anyone found responsible for disturbing public order.
The incidents have heightened tensions in Aligarh, with sanitation workers also staging a strike on Thursday over the arrest of a Valmiki community youth in connection with the alleged assault on Raghav. The workers have demanded a counter-case against Raghav, who has been accused by protesters of making derogatory remarks during the anti-reservation demonstration.
with inputs from PTI