A Dalit man riding a mare during his wedding procession was forcibly made to dismount, attacked with beer bottles and dragged along the road allegedly by a group of upper caste men in Rajasthan's Udaipur district.

The assailants were apparently infuriated to see the Dalit man riding the mare, a practice which is still considered an exclusive privilege of the upper castes.

The groom lodged a police complaint following which one of the accused has been detained. A hunt for the others is on, police said today. Police booked a case against four people under sections of the SC/ST Act late last night.

The incident happened in Jhalo Ka Dhana village in Udaipur where Kailash Meghwal (25) was taking out his marriage procession. According to the Ghasa police station SHO Ramesh Kavia, the complainant claimed that around five to six people, armed with beer bottles, rods and other sharp-edged weapons, attacked the people in procession.

Meghwal suffered injuries to his body and head, and had to get stitches. "We have booked a case against four people under sections of the SC/ST Act and investigation is on. To provide protection to the victim family, we have deployed policemen to avoid any untoward incident," Kavia said.