Resentment is brewing in the dalit community in Saharanpur, which had witnessed large scale clashes between thakurs and dalits, that claimed three lives and left around two dozen others injured, over police action against supporters Chandrashekhar, the Bheem Army founder and the main accused in the Saharanpur violence.
Dalit community members have alleged that the police have been conducting late night raids on their houses and arresting the youths on trumped up charges.
On Monday hundreds of dalit women created a rukcus inside the police lines in Saharanpur in protest against what they alleged indiscriminate arrest of the community members.
Another group of dalit women blocked traffic on the busy Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar road to register their protest against the police action.
Dalits in large numbers also held a demonstration before Behat police station in the district in protest against the arrest of a youth from Patherwa village for being an alleged member of the Bheem Army. The youth was later released after the demonstration, police said.
''The police has been harassing innocent people...a large number of dalit have been detained on fake charges,'' alleged BSP leader Naresh Gautam in Saharanpur.
Dalits have been holding demonstrations across the district to protest the arrest of Chandrashekhar. Chandrashekhar was arrested from Himachal Pradesh by the Special Task Force (STF) of UP police a few days back.
Congress has already announced its support for Chandrashekar. State Congress vice-president Imran Masood slammed the UP government for decalring reward of rs. 12 thousand on his head and warned that there would be ''serious consequences'' if the dalit leader was ''tortured'' in police custody.
Three persons were killed and over two dozen others injured when members of thakur and dalit communities clashed following a dispute over taking out a procession at Shabbirpur village in the district last month.
Published 13 June 2017, 15:33 IST