42 booked for forcibly applying colours on Dalits in UP village

Mathura: Around 42 people have been booked for allegedly forcibly applying colours on a group of Dalits in a village here on Holi, police said on Saturday.

According to police, a scuffle broke out in Bati village under the Jait police station limits on Dhulendi -- the day on which Holi is played -- when some upper caste youths allegedly used force to apply colours on people from Scheduled Castes.

Both sides fought with sticks and pelted stones, during which a dozen people were injured.

Police subsequently registered a case against 32 Dalits. Nine of them were arrested and sent to jail.

On Friday, Dalit groups staged a sit-in protest at the Collectorate, demanding that a case be registered on their behalf as well.

Circle Officer (Sadar) Sandeep Kumar Singh said based on the complaint by a woman from Bati village, the police on Friday filed an FIR against 42 people under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

He said evidence related to the case is being collected.