Friday, June 06, 2003

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Jat-Dalit tiff turns violent

One killed in police firing in Jalandhar

ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA

JALANDHAR/ TALHAN, JUNE 5: One person was killed and seven injured in police firing when caste violence that rocked Talhan village today spilled over to Jalandhar late in the evening. Police opened fire on a 1,000-strong mob of BSP workers and Dalits near Buta Mandi after they set fire to a bus and a fire-tender. The firing was ordered after protesters gheraoed police and thrashed a policeman, whose condition is stated to be critical. The deceased has been identified as Vijay (30) alias Kala of Buta Mandi. The seven injured have been admitted to hospital. Police reportedly fired 15-20 rounds under SP (Traffic) H.S. Dhindsa. The mob raised slogans against DC Ashok Gupta and SSP Varinder Kumar, demanding their suspension with that of SHO Balkar Singh and DSP Sarwan Singh for their alleged partisan role in Talhan. Meanwhile, curfew was imposed on Bhargo Camp, another sensitive area. Earlier, the district administration imposed curfew on Talhan after clashes between Jat and Dalit communities. Curfew was imposed around 7 pm after police failed to quell the four-hour-long pitched fighting, that left a dozen Dalits and half-a-dozen Jats with serious injuries. The role of the police party led by SHO Balkar Singh and DSP Sarwan Singh came under fire from the Dalits, who accused the Jats of ransacking their houses with police connivance. When The Indian Express team visited Talhan this evening, people from the two communities were pelting stones at each other. The violence broke out during a fair organised by Jats at the mazar of Pir Baba Fateh Shah near the Dalit mohalla. A few Jat youths alleged the trouble started when some Dalits entered the fair with swords and lathis. The Dalits claimed they were attacked by Jats and policemen. Dalit leader Vijay Sampla said three Dalit houses were ransacked by Jat youths in the presence of police. Attempting to downplay the charges, SSP Varinder Kumar said the policemen were outnumbered initially.

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