Dalit beaten for sitting on chair in Gujarat



A Dalit woman was allegedly attacked by a mob for sitting on a chair at a school in a village in Ahmedabad district, police said on Friday. Pallaviben Jadav, 45, who works at an anganwadi centre in Valthera village, had sat on a chair while distributing Aadhaar cards on Wednesday. According to the FIR registered at Kath police station, local resident Jayraj Vegad was infuriated to see Pallaviben sitting on a chair. Vegad allegedly asked Pallaviben how she dared to sit on a chair, being a Dalit. Vegad allegedly kicked the chair, causing her to fall, according to the complaint lodged by the woman's husband Ganpat Jadav. A forty-eight-year-old Dalit woman anganwadi worker tasked with issuing Aadhaar cards, was allegedly attacked by a member of the Darbar community, for “sitting on a chair at the panchayat office”. The woman, Pallavi Jadhav, is the aunt of Maulik Jadhav, who was assaulted last month for adding the suffix ‘Sinh’ to his name.

According to the FIR registered at Koth police station in Ahmedabad district on Thursday, Jayrajsinh Vegad, one of the 10 accused persons, asked Pallavi why she was sitting on a chair and kicked the chair, causing Pallavi to fall off it. Nine other men of the Darbar community then came to the panchayat office and started abusing Dalits with casteist slurs and attacked them with sticks and iron-pipes. It was also alleged that the accused snatched Pallaviben's mangalsutra. The accused allegedly tried to set one of her relatives on fire," said P.D. Manvar, deputy superintendent of police, SC/ST cell, Ahmedabad. 

Comments