Surendranagar: Two Dalit men were killed allegedly by a group of persons belonging to an OBC community over a land dispute in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, police said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening in Samadhiala village under Chuda taluka.
The two victims – Aalji Parmar,60, and his brother Manoj Parmar,54, died during treatment at a government hospital in Surendranagar town on Wednesday night, the police said.
Based on a complaint given by one Parulben Parmar, who was also injured in the attack, the Chuda police on Thursday morning registered an FIR against six identified and 12-15 unidentified persons from Kathi Darbar community, Inspector General of Police, Rajkot and Surendranagar Range, Ashok Kumar Yadav said.
“The victims were attacked because of a land dispute between the members of two different communities. The Dalits as well as Kathi Darbars have been staking claim on a piece of land in Samadhiala village,” he said.
“While two men died in the incident, some others, including women, were injured. An FIR has been registered in this connection,” said Yadav.
He said the dispute over the piece of land was going on since 1998 and the Dalit family had also won the case in a lower court.
As per the FIR, the complainant, a widow living in Ahmedabad, along with her two brothers-in-law (brothers of her deceased husband) and their wives went to their ancestral Samadhiala village to start sowing on their agricultural land.
The complainant alleged the accused had been trying to grab her ancestral land and threatening her and other family members for a long time.
When they were returning after plowing the field, a group of nearly 20 men allegedly attacked them with sticks and sharp weapons, as per the FIR.
These accused, led by one Amrabhai Khachar, and his brother and sons, allegedly attacked their vehicle and started beating them saying the land belongs to them only and no one should enter it, it said.
Following the serious injuries received in the attack, two brothers – Aaljibhai and Manojbhai Parmar – died during treatment while three women and a tractor driver were admitted to hospital for treatment, the police said.
While taking to a Twitter handle, Congress MLA and Dalit rights activist, Jignesh Mevani alleged that these incidents have become common in Gujarat and the government is not taking appropriate action to prevent such atrocities in the state.
“With every passing day, the fate of Dalits in Gujarat is turning from bad to worse. The state is fast becoming the atrocity capital of the country,” he tweeted.
“What is the Gujarat govt doing to stop these endless atrocities committed against Dalits in the state? Can Dalits not even have access to tilt their own land? When will these brutalities end?” he added.
The accused were booked on charges of murder, attempt to murder, and rioting, as well as under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the police added.
