Maulik Jadhav took this decision to change his name to protest an attack on a Dalit man in Banaskantha.
Tension prevailed between members of the Dalit and upper caste communities in Dholka town of Ahmedabad district on Tuesday evening over a Dalit man adding suffix 'sinh' to his name.
The suffix 'sinh' added to the man's first name is usually used by upper caste Darbar and Rajput community members. 'Sinh' refers to lion which the upper caste members consider as a privilege to add in their names.
Few days ago, 22-year-old Maulik Jadhav announced on Facebook that he had added 'Sinh' to his name and would be now referred to as Mauliksinh Jadav.
In his complaint, Maulik Jadhav alleged that a Rajput man called Sahdevsinh Vaghela, along with five others, thrashed him and ransacked his house yesterday.
Two FIRs had been lodged, with both sides blaming the other for the violence, the police said.
Speaking to reporters, Maulik Jadhav said that he took this decision to change his name to protest an attack on a Dalit man in Banaskantha district of north Gujarat. The man too added the suffix 'Sinh' to his name. Jadhav also claimed that the Rajput members have been threatening him for some time on this issue.
A counter complaint lodged by Dhirajba Mahipatsinh Vaghela said a mob of Dalits ransacked his house and looted valuables last night.
Sahdevsinh Vaghela and others have been booked under various sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
No arrests have been made in the two counter complaints yet by the police.
(With inputs from PTI)