Dalit bridegroom assaulted, abused for riding horse during procession; four held
Gandhinagar, Feb 13: Four persons were arrested for allegedly attacking a Dalit bridegroom for riding a horse as part of his wedding procession in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district, police said Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon at Chadasana village when the accused persons also hurled casteist abuses at the Dalit groom Vikas Chavda when he was riding a horse as part of his wedding procession, a Mansa police station official said.
The groom was riding a horse in a procession with around 100 participants and was on the way to the bride's house in the village when a man on a motorcycle intercepted and dragged him down from the horse and slapped him, said a complaint filed by the groom's cousin Sanjay Chavda.
The accused person also hurled casteist slurs at the groom, objecting to him riding the horse by saying that only members of his community can ride a horse, it said.
Three more persons joined him and all four started abusing and threatening the victim, the complainant stated in the FIR. The groom was compelled to ride a four-wheeler to the bride's house for their wedding, it said.
The four arrested are Sailesh Thakore, Jayesh Thakore, Samir Thakore and Ashwin Thakore. All the four belong to the OBC community.
All the four accused persons were arrested, the police official said.
They were booked under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 114 (abettor present when offence committed), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and relevant sections of the SC/ST ((Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
