Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Deoband village. Both sides have accused each other of stone pelting and firing during the dispute.
Half a dozen people were injured in a clash between members of the Thakur and Dalit communities over a land dispute in Lalwala village of Deoband in Saharanpur district on Saturday.
The Uttar Pradesh administration has deployed police to prevent further incidents of violence.
According to The Telegraph, Dalit villager Naresh Kumar told reporters that he had given two bighas of land to Ravindra Kumar Rana for contract farming a few years ago, but Rana refused to return the land after the deadline.
Naresh further said, “Rana also manipulated the documents and got his name registered as the owner of the land in the revenue department records. Recently, I met with senior administrative officials in the district during a public hearing and requested their help in getting my land back. The officials called Rana, but they were unable to convince him to return the land to me.”
Naresh said he contacted members of the Bhim Sena, who decided to help him. “They met me today (Saturday) and we went to get our land back. The Thakurs first threw stones at us and then started firing. As soon as the news spread, Dalit villagers gathered at the scene and pelted stones at the Thakurs.”
He also alleged that the local administration and police were siding with members of the Thakur community because of their political connections.
Circle Officer Abhitesh Bhati said, “The situation is peaceful after the violence. The injured have been admitted to the local community health center. We have deployed police and paramilitary forces to restore peace in the village.”
Rana said he had purchased 32 bighas of land from Naresh’s father.
Courtesy: Hindi News