Jignesh Mevani, Gujarat Dalit rights leader and MLA, has demanded that the state government should immediately suspend Aravalli district's deputy superintendent of police Falguni Patel for allegedly abusing Dalits in Khambisar village after people from the dominant caste stalled a Dalit wedding procession, leading to clashes.
“A video is viral on the social media. It is enough of evidence to institute an inquiry against her under the anti-atrocities Act”, he said.
Addressing media, Mevani, flanked by top Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan, accused Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani for keeping mum over the row, saying this amounted to “siding with the casteist sections of the village”. Referring to four similar incidents on Dalit wedding procession in rural Gujarat which took place over the last one week, he said, instead of taking action against the dominant caste people the cops were acting against the Dalits, who are the victims.
Insisting that these are clear cases of prevalence of untouchability in the state, as reflected in a 2009 survey of more than 1,500 villages by Navsarjan Trust, Mevani warned the state government of Dalit protests across Gujarat if steps are not taken against cops responsible for refusing to protect the wedding processions despite pleas in advance. “Why has the CM, or any other official, not visited any of these villages?”, he asked.
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