Rajasthan: Afraid of upper-caste wrath, Dalit groom rides mare under huge police presence

Jaipur: A Dalit groom's 'baraat' was taken out under heavy police protection in Rajasthan's Ajmer district after the bride's family approached the administration apprehending opposition by upper castes to a horse-mounted wedding procession.

The presence of around 200 police personnel ensured the traditional 'Bindoli' ceremony was incident-free as groom Vijay Regar rode a mare to Aruna's Khorwal's Lavera village to marry her on Tuesday.

Aruna Khorwal's family had approached the administration, anticipating potential opposition by upper caste locals in the village. The administration deployed around 200 personnel for the ceremony.

"A family had raised concern with the police that they wanted to take out a wedding procession and perhaps there could be some trouble. A meeting was held in the village as a part of preparation. The villagers also cooperated and said there would be no problem. The wedding was procession was taken out under police protection," Ajmer Superintendent of Police Vandita Rana said.

Aruna's father Narayan Khorwal had also approached local activists, including Ramesh Chand Bansal, the Secretary of Manav Vikas Avam Adhikar Kendra Sansthan.

Bansal wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and also approached the local police for help following which police personnel including officers from multiple police stations were deployed.

"If we remain scared then how things will work. We are an educated family.

In the past, there have been untoward incidents during wedding processions so we had approached the police and activists," bride's father Narayan said.

However, the family skipped DJ and firecrackers.