One person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between Dalits and Rajputs on Friday in a Saharanpur village. Shabbirpur and Simlana villages, where the clashes happened, has been turned into a fortress. Additional police force and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) force were called from Muzaffarnagar and deployed in Saharanpur to prevent violence from spreading.
According to the Uttar Pradesh government press briefing the violence was triggered on Friday afternoon when dalit youths of Shabbirpur village protested against a procession in the name of Maharana Pratap being taken by Thakur community through a dalit temple of Saint Ravidas without prior permission of the local administration. The houses of dalits in Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur, were burnt allegedly by members of Thakur community in retaliation to their protest.
“Without prior permission of the administration 20-25 Rajput youths were taking out a procession with music and DJ system through Shabbirpur village when the village head and some members of Scheduled Caste protested against DJ being played and informed the police. The police station in-charge came and sent the Rajput youths back to nearby Simlana village where a statue of Maharana Pratap was supposed to be garlanded,” said the press statement issued by the State government over the clash.
