Five booked for caste discrimination at village feast

Rajkot: Five persons from Bhutdi village in Visavadar taluka have been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly imposing discriminatory rules and insulting Dalit villagers during a community feast.The alleged offence took place on Monday evening, during the ‘Pran Pratishtha Mahotsav' (consecration ceremony) of the Ramji Temple in Bhutdi village. The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on Tuesday afternoon at Visavadar police station by one Ajay Boricha.According to the FIR, the five accused were acting as organizers of the religious event and accompanying community dinner. Boricha stated that the organizers came to the Dalit neighbourhood and invited the residents to the feast, but subjected them to humiliating conditions.The accused allegedly told the Dalit residents that while they were invited, they must bring their own plates and bowls from home. Furthermore, they were told that they would only be allowed to eat after people of other castes had finished their meals, and that their seating and drinking water arrangements had been kept separate from the rest of the village. Boricha stated that this behaviour was an intentional insult to humiliate the community based on their caste.After the alleged incident, the aggrieved community members held discussions with local leaders and decided to take legal action against the organizers for the discrimination. Five men have been named as accused in the FIR: Babu Hapani, Narendra Siroya, Ramnik Sorathiya, Atul Siroya and Fula Siroya.Visavadar police lodged a case under Sections 196(2) and 54 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.Police sources indicated that due to the controversy, the event was postponed by villagers. The idol installation ceremony was held over Monday and Tuesday. The village has an estimated population of 2,000.The investigation has been assigned to DySP Ravirajsingh Parmar of the Junagadh SC/ST Cell. He said that "notices have been issued to all the accused, witness statements have been recorded and a site inspection has been conducted in Bhutdi village".
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