Jaunpur: In a disturbing incident, a Dalit youth was assaulted at a wedding ceremony in Jaunpur district. The police have registered a case based on a complaint by the victim's uncle.

The incident took place in the Kerakat police station area. According to Mahendra, a resident of Belawa village, his nephew Ashwini attended a wedding in Paramanandpur village with the wedding party. While sitting under a tent, Ashwini felt hot and rotated a nearby fan to get some air, which angered other youths present at the ceremony.

Mahendra reported that Shivam from Paramanandpur, Siddharth from Surhurpur, Saurabh from Belawa, and Deepak from Atraura used casteist slurs to insult Ashwini. When Ashwini protested, they beat him with sticks. Mahendra has since filed a complaint with the police.

Following the complaint, the police registered a case against Shivam, Siddharth, Saurabh, and Deepak under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), and sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (amended in 2015). Station in-charge of Kerakat, Dilip Kumar Singh, confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.

This incident highlights a broader issue, as the central government informed the Parliament in March 2023 that nearly 1.9 lakh cases of crimes against Dalits were registered over four years starting from 2018. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Uttar Pradesh alone reported around 49,613 cases of attacks on Dalits.

Wife files atrocity case against husband after 11 years of marriage

A woman from Peepalsana Chaudhary in Bhojipura, Bareilly, has accused her husband and sister-in-law of dowry harassment and caste-based abuse, eleven years after marrying into an upper-caste family.

Deepak Sharma married Padma, a Dalit woman, in a love marriage eleven years ago. They have two sons. Padma alleges that Deepak gets drunk, assaults her, and uses casteist slurs. She also claims that Deepak's sister, Harshita Sharma, similarly assaults her and uses casteist insults.

Padma reported that her in-laws often say they would have received a significant dowry if Deepak had married within their caste. They have repeatedly pressured her to bring cash from her parental home. Despite bringing money several times, she faced harassment when she refused. On the night of May 10, Padma alleges that Deepak and Harshita tried to strangle her with a sari.

Following her complaint, the police have registered a case against Deepak and Harshita for dowry harassment and under the SC-ST Act. The investigation is currently underway.