The caste violence in Haryana, which forced out a group of dalit families from Mirchpur village in Hisar district after their houses were burnt down, took ugly turn on Wednesday when Hisar’s deputy commissioner was attacked and manhandled by angry protesters.
The police said Hisar deputy commissioner Yudhir Singh had come to meet the protesters at Mandir Marg area in New Delhi, where the refugees are camping following the violence in the village. The officials said Mr Singh had come to convey the Supreme Court’s message, which had made it incumbent upon the Haryana government to provide protection to the victims of caste violence in Mirchpur village. “He was attacked by the angry families as they did not want to move back out of the fear of more persecution,” a police official said.
The sources said Mr Singh had barely finished speaking when a protester, who claimed that her family was killed in the violence, demanded to know what the government had done to bring the culprits to justice.
Mr Singh could not satisfy the woman and started moving towards his car when he was stopped by angry protesters.
“He tried to escape with other officials on foot but the protesters chased him and manhandled him. They did not allow him to board his car which was attacked by a group of people,” an eyewitness said.
The police was informed by one of Mr Singh’s official and the situation was brought under control. “Some people were detained under prohibitory orders, but they were released in the evening,” the official said.