Dalit event attacked in Kanpur, five arrested
On Tuesday evening, members of the Bhim Army reached the village and started a protest at the Katha site with the locals
An event being organised by the Dalit community came under attack from a group of heavily armed men, who allegedly opened fire, hurled crude bombs and desecrated a statue of Sant Ravidas at a village in Kanpur, police said on Tuesday.
Two people have been admitted to a hospital in Kanpur after sustaining severe injuries in the incident, which occurred at a village in Ghatampur late on Monday night.
Joint commissioner of police (JCP), Kanpur, Anand Prakash Tiwari said five people were arrested on Tuesday after a first information report (FIR) registered against eight accused, all from so-called upper caste communities. “Police are conducting raids to arrest all the accused named in the FIR. A heavy force of police personnel, including those from provincial armed constabulary, has been deployed in the village,” he said.
One of the accused named in the FIR is Manish Tiwari, the public relations officer of local Apna Dal legislator Saroj Kureel. Kureel was not available for her comments.
Pavan Kumar Sankhwar, one of the organisers of the event, said the annual Bodh Katha began on Monday night. “People who were upset with the event launched a planned attack around 2 am. Those who were sleeping under tents were beaten and the entire set up was vandalised,” he alleged, adding the attackers resorted to “indiscriminate firing” and even hurled some “crude bombs”.
“They threatened if the event continued, they would kill everyone involved. They even damaged the statue of Sant Ravidas,” Ram Sagar Paswan, on whose complaint the FIR was registered, alleged. “They damaged chairs, and tables, and tore the literature. We had to run to protect ourselves.”
Ghatampur assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Dinesh Kumar Shukla identified the accused as Manish Tiwari, Chandra Bhan Mishra, Golu Mishra, Shivam Mishra, Jeetu Mishra, Arun Kotedar, Kinnar Mishra and Vishambhar Mishra.
“The attackers had fled before the police arrived at the spot. They have been booked for rioting, vandalism, dacoity and attempt to murder, and also charged under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” Shukla said.
Local upper caste residents alleged that the event had become a source of contention between communities last year too. Chandra Bhan Mishra, one of the accused named in the FIR, had filed a complaint with the Ghatampur sub-divisional magistrate on December 16, urging him not to allow the event this year. In his complaint, Mishra alleged that an effigy purportedly depicting brahmins was supposed to be displayed during the event before being dragged across the village.
The JCP, however, said they could not find any evidence of any provocatory material from the site of the Katha event.
Ashish Ambedkar, another complainant in the case, said that the event organisers had assured the other side that nothing offensive would be put on display. “We all made this commitment, but three days ago police came to the village asking us not to organise the event,” he alleged. “To our shock, despite the threat perception, the local police did not deploy any personnel at the site.”
On Tuesday evening, members of the Bhim Army reached the village and started a protest at the Katha site with the locals.