Rajoda village rally pelted with stones

Ahmedabad: At a time when the country is celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, dalits were attacked by a dominant community just because they had joined celebrations in Rajoda village of Bavla taluka in Ahmedabad district.
Rajoda resident Jayraj Vaghela alleged that members of Rajput community had assaulted them after they took out a procession on Thursday to mark Ambedkar's birth anniversary.
"The situation is still tense in the village and members of the dalit community are still in fear of their lives," said Vaghela.
A staff member of the 108 medical service who had provided emergency relief in Rajoda, said 15 people in the village had suffered injuries during pelting of stones by members of dalit and Rajput communities.
Ahmedabad district collector Rajkumar Beniwal confirmed that the incident had taken place and said that the local police, along with one State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) company, had been deployed in the village.
"Some people were injured but they had minor injuries. No casualties were reported. The situation is under control and our SP is there to monitor the situation," Beniwal said.
Ahmedabad rural SP Nirlipt Rai said that another clash had taken had taken place on Friday after the bike of a Rajput community member hit a dalit. "Both the communities indulged in stone-pelting after the incident. However, no one has suffered any major injury," Rai said. He said that the law and order situation in the village has returned to normalcy. Police will be present in the village for some time.