Police ‘inaction’ for 6 years forced Greater Noida family to strip

A Dalit family from Dankaur, which had allegedly stripped naked at the local police station on Wednesday, has alleged that an upper caste man had encroached on their land and the police and the administration had done nothing about it for the last six years, forcing them to take the extreme step.

A Dalit family from Dankaur, which had allegedly stripped naked at the local police station on Wednesday, has alleged that an upper caste man had encroached on their land and the police and the administration had done nothing about it for the last six years, forcing them to take the extreme step.

Members of the Uttar Pradesh State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission meet the aggrieved family members, at Dankaur on Friday. (HT Photo)

The family has been arrested and booked for obscenity.

The man Mahavir Nagar, the family has said, belonged to the Gurjar community that is dominant in the area

“In 2009, Mahavir took a 2,000 square yard plot from us to make a temporary hut and store farm produce. Later, he refused to give the land back to us. My father had lodged an FIR against the man. But the police failed to take any action in the last six years. In fact, Mahavir and other members of the Gurjar community kept harassing my father and uncles. They stripped at the police station out of frustration on Wednesday,” said Bharti Gautam, daughter of Sunil Gautam, who was arrested on Wednesday.

Bharti said Wednesday’s incident was provoked by the police refusing to lodge a second complaint.

Later the family staged a dharna at Danakaur’s Biharilal crossing.

Danakaur SHO Praveen Kumar Yadav later reached the dharna spot and apparently started beating up the protesters.

“Some people made a video to defame my family and harass us. My family did not start stripping. It was done by the police,” alleged Bharti.

The police, however, denied all the charges.

“Sunil and his brother have a habit of making false allegations against people. They wanted me to arrest Mahavir Nagar. When I refused, the family stripped naked,” said Danakaur SHO Yadav.

Mahavir also dismissed the charges against him.

“I have not encroached upon an inch of land belonging to this family. I have over 200 square yards of government land on the Yamuna Expressway since 1990. I am ready to face any probe,” he said.