UP: Day after ‘attack by Gurjars’, three Dalit families flee Pilibhit village

After the attack, a case was registered against 22 persons, including the girl’s father who has been arrested along with three others on Saturday. Incidentally, the girl’s father, after his arrest, too, got an FIR registered against the Dalit youth, Vijay Pal, his uncle and two cousins on charges of abducting his 19-year-old daughter for force-marriage.

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Heavy police force have been deployed in the village to avoid any untoward incident.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Pilibhit, Sudhir Kumar Singh said Pal’s family had left the village on Friday morning while the Gurjar community attacked the other families later in the night.

Village pradhan Anand Prakash, a Gurjar, told The Indian Express that three Dalit families, including that of Vijay Pal, his uncle and another relative, have left the village, which has a population of around 1000 with a predominantly Gurjar population (nearly 80 per cent). Pal is a daily-wage labourer at a factory in Uttrakhand, the pradhan added.

Station Officer, Nuria police station, Shamshad Ali said the girl left house for some work on March 10 and did not return. Her family, informed by others that she had eloped with Pal, did not inform the police and carried out a search of their own, the SO said.

Four persons identified as Gaurav, Prempal, Sunderlal and the girl’s father were caught from the spot when the attack took place. Upon the arrival of the police, members of the Gurjar community staged protest following which police had to use force to disperse the crowd.

The injured have been identified as Mayadevi, Suman Devi, Raju and Sohanlal. They were sent to district hospital for treatment.

Later, Sohanlal got an FIR registered against 22 named and 40-50 unidentified assailants at the Nuria police station on various charges, including arson and SC/ST Act.