Bhim Army chief warns Gujarat government against Dalit 'atrocities'
Ahmedabad: Criticising the BJP government in Gujarat over the recent incidents of wedding processions of Dalits being stopped by some sections of the society, Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad Friday issued a warning saying such atrocities will no longer be tolerated.
Talking to reporters here, Azad said 'jungle raj' is prevailing in Gujarat as members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community are deprived of their fundamental rights given by the Constitution.
"I came to Gujarat because many incidents of atrocities on Dalits have happened recently. It seems that Constitutional provisions do not apply in Gujarat. Article 15 of the Constitution, which protects all the citizens from discrimination, has been removed by the Gujarat government," said Azad alias Ravan.
Not just for taking out wedding processions, Dalits in Gujarat were persecuted for keeping moustache and suffixing 'Sinh' in their names, he said.
"They are still not allowed to visit temples. This is nothing but 'jungle raj'. I want to tell the government that Dalits will not tolerate this insult anymore. We want the government to wake up and come to its senses," he added.
The Bhim Army chief added that he would visit all those villages of Gujarat where wedding processions of Dalit grooms were stopped.
These incidents took place at Lhor village in Mehsana, Sitvada village in Sabarkantha and at Khambhisar in Arvalli district.
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In biggest haul, drugs worth Rs 51 cr seized in Meghalaya, 2 held
Shillong (PTI): The Meghalaya Police seized drugs worth over Rs 51 crore, the biggest haul of narcotics in the state so far, in East Jaintia Hills district and arrested two Mizoram-based persons in this connection, a senior officer said on Saturday.
The seizure was made during a coordinated naka-checking conducted by the police and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) personnel in the Ratacherra area on Friday, he said.
During the operation, a vehicle with three persons, including the driver, on board was intercepted and searched in accordance with due legal procedures.
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Upon checking, 19 plastic soap cases, containing suspected heroin weighing 203.7 grams, were recovered from the possession of one of the three persons, the officer said.
The search of the vehicle led to the recovery of a blue-coloured trolley bag belonging to another occupant of the vehicle.
Suspected crystal meth (methamphetamine) tablets weighing 10.145 kilograms were found in the bag, the police officer said.
'Meth' tablets are banned in India.
Two of the three occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and a preliminary investigation suggested that they are part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking syndicate, the officer said.
"The total value of the seized contraband is estimated to be around Rs 51.13 crore", ANTF chief Vikash Kumar told PTI.
The arrested persons hail from Mizoram, he said.
A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and an investigation is underway to establish the forward and backward linkages related to the seizure, the officer added.
