Dalit Groom Assaulted For Riding Horse During Wedding Procession In Gujarat

Four persons were arrested for allegedly attacking a Dalit groom for riding a horse as part of his wedding procession in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district, police said Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon at Chadasana village when the accused persons also hurled casteist abuses at the Dalit groom Vikas Chavda when he was riding a horse as part of his wedding procession, a Mansa police station official said.

The groom was riding a horse in a procession with around 100 participants and was on the way to the bride's house in the village when a man on a motorcycle intercepted and dragged him down from the horse and slapped him, said a complaint filed by the groom's cousin Sanjay Chavda.

The accused person also hurled casteist slurs at the groom, objecting to him riding the horse by saying that only members of his community can ride a horse, it said.

Three more persons joined him and all four started abusing and threatening the victim, the complainant stated in the FIR. The groom was compelled to ride a four-wheeler to the bride's house for their wedding, it said.

The four arrested are Sailesh Thakore, Jayesh Thakore, Samir Thakore and Ashwin Thakore. All the four belong to the OBC community.

All the four accused persons were arrested, the police official said.

They were booked under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 114 (abettor present when offence committed), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and relevant sections of the SC/ST ((Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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