A lesser-known Dalit group led by a lawyer – ‘Bheem Army’ – actively used social media to rally protestors and allegedly orchestrated Tuesday’s violence in Saharanpur in which a police post was set on fire and a number of persons were injured, district authorities said on Thursday.
The officials said the Bheem Army Bharat Ekta Mission, founded by 30-year-old lawyer Chandrasekhar, circulated messages on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, appealing to members of the Dalit community to attend a ‘mahapanchayat’ on 9 May in Gandhi Park to demand compensation and relief for those affected in last week’s inter-caste clashes.
District officials said the group was enraged over members of the Thakur community allegedly clashing with Dalits and torching their houses in Shabbirpur village on 5 May after they refused to allow a procession to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap.
Some of those who were injured in the 5 May clashes and recuperating at the district hospital in Saharanpur said their community members objected to the procession as upper caste Thakurs had earlier stopped Dalits from installing a statue of BR Ambedkar on the premises of a ‘Ravidas Mandir’ in the village.
Around 600 Dalits and over 900 Thakurs reside in the village, about 35 km from where the violence erupted on 9 May.
District Magistrate NP Singh said the administration turned down their request for holding ‘mahapanchayat’ and the Dalit men took to the streets to protest against it.
The protesters had also come from at least three neighbouring districts.NP Singh, District Magistrate
Singh said it seemed to be a “planned exercise, considering the men indulged in violence in five-six areas across the city simultaneously.” The group apparently sent provocative messages to members on WhatsApp.
(With inputs from PTI)
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