In an incident reflective of prevalence of discrimination on the basis of caste, a woman village 'pradhan' (panchayat chief), who hailed from scheduled caste (SC) was allegedly 'forced' to sit on the ground in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba district, about 250 kilometres from here, during an official meeting.
According to the reports, some members of the upper caste 'physically forced' the newly elected 'pradhan', who was sitting on a chair, when the meeting began, to sit on the ground.
The incident happened at Nathupura village in the district a few days back. It came to light on Saturday after a complaint was lodged with the police in this regard.
One person has been arrested in this connection, reports said. Efforts were on to nab the others.
''They (upper caste people) misbehaved with me....one of them caught hold of my arm and forced me out of the chair...they abused me also when I protested,'' the pradhan said.
Police said that a case was registered against ten people under relevant sections of the IPC and SC/ST Act. ''We will take stern action against the guilty,'' said a senior police official in the district.
Incidentally, the district had witnessed a more or less similar incident last month, when the upper caste members allegedly objected to an SC groom riding a horse. The incident had happened at Mahobkanth village.
The police had then also registered a case against some people.