Hyderabad: Two days after a Dalit man’s house in Telangana’s Jogulamba Gadwal district was allegedly demolished by his in-laws, a fact-finding team visited the victims and claimed that members of the dominant Reddy community had encouraged the attack from behind.
They said that at least 15 people were involved in the incident, with many still at large.
The team comprising Dalit Bahujan Front (DBF) national secretary P Shankar, Human Rights Forum (HRF) district member Sanjeev, spokesperson of Telangana Ambedkar Students’ Association Eddu Divakar, and social activist Bhaskar visited Repalle village on Saturday, September 12, to inquire about the incident.
According to their conversation with the Dalit family and villagers, the young man, from the Madiga community, fell in love with his childhood sweetheart (from Backward Classes Boya community) and married her at an Arya Samaj in Hyderabad on September 9.
Fearing for their safety from her relatives, the couple approached the Masab Tank Police seeking protection. Police called both families and counselled them.
But the following night, the woman’s angry relatives demolished the two-room house with a tractor and crowbars. The house was empty.
Police registered a first information report (FIR), and six people have been arrested so far under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, while others remain at large.
They also met Gadwal Collector and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), demanding immediate identification and arrest of all accused and compensation for the damage caused to the Dalit man’s family.
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