Jhalur village incident: upper caste farmers hold counter-protest, seek probe
The struggle for ownership of common land between Dalits and the upper caste farmers has taken a U-turn in Jhalur village. On Monday, the upper caste members came out on roads demanding a CBI inquiry into the October 5 incident in which 30 Dalits were allegedly injured and a 70-year-old woman, Gurdev Kaur, later succumbed to her injuries on Friday.
The struggle for ownership of common land between Dalits and the upper caste farmers has taken a U-turn in Jhalur village. On Monday, the upper caste members came out on roads demanding a CBI inquiry into the October 5 incident in which 30 Dalits were allegedly injured and a 70-year-old woman, Gurdev Kaur, later succumbed to her injuries on Friday.
Ever since the incident, Dalits along with several labour and farmer unions are protesting to demand the arrest of the upper caste members who attacked them. Recently, they have been protesting outside the residence of finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa demanding immediate arrest of all those who attacked Dalits.
On Monday, hundreds of upper caste farmers staged a protest outside sub-divisional magistrate office, Lehra.
They raised slogans against the state government and Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) , who has lent support to the Dalits. They alleged that a section of the village is trying to spoil the village’s atmosphere, which will not be tolerated and have demanded a CBI inquiry of the case.
Labour and farmer unions in Sangrur burnt an effigy of Dhindsa and alleged that the government is supporting those who attacked the Dalits. “The unions have decided to hold protests against Dalit atrocities in the state outside the office of deputy commissioner on Tuesday in Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Jalandhar,” said Mukesh, president Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee.
On Sunday night, civil society members held a candle march and demanded arrest of all the accused who were booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, after the death of Gurdev Kaur on Friday night at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
SSP Pritpal Singh Thind, said, “Both parties are staging protest against each other but police have been working on the matter.
Raids are being conducted to arrest the accused. All the accused who were charged for murder will be arrested soon”.