Dalit man beaten, abused for visiting temple in Gujarat village
Himatnagar (Gujarat): A Dalit labourer from Khedawada Lakshmipura village in Gujarat’s Himatnagar was allegedly beaten and abused with casteist slurs after he expressed his wish to visit a temple. The victim, identified as 38-year-old Shailesh Solanki, a daily-wage worker, has lodged a complaint with the Himatnagar rural police.
According to the FIR, the incident took place on the evening of September 26 near a crossroads in Balochpur. Solanki was waiting for transport when Bharat Patel, a resident of Dhanpura, stopped him and questioned his presence in the area. When Solanki explained that he was on his way to the Kal Bhairav temple, Patel demanded proof of his identity.
Solanki said he showed his Aadhaar card, after which Patel noticed his surname and asked if he belonged to a Scheduled Caste. Upon learning that Solanki was a Dalit, Patel allegedly began hurling casteist abuses and slapped him several times, questioning why a Dalit had come to a temple at night.
Two men from Titpur village, Narendrasinh Parmar and Jagatsinh Parmar, intervened and stopped the assault. However, Patel allegedly forced Solanki onto his scooter, took him to a secluded spot near Ghorwada, and threatened him with dire consequences if he returned.
Solanki later informed his family and met the two witnesses who had intervened. Based on his complaint, the police registered a case under sections related to assault and criminal intimidation, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The investigation into the incident is currently underway.
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J-K: Six held with drugs, assets worth Rs 73 lakh attached in Udhampur
Jammu (PTI): Six persons were taken into custody during an intensified anti-narcotics crackdown, with police recovering contraband substances and over Rs 23 lakh in Doda and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Monday.
In a parallel action, properties worth over Rs 73 lakh linked to drug peddlers were also attached in Udhampur district under relevant legal provisions, the police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mohd Aslam said three persons, including a woman, were detained during a raid on a house at Dak Mohalla in the main town following recovery of 85 grams of suspected brown sugar and over Rs 23 lakh on Sunday evening.
He identified the woman as Zareena Begum, stating that she had been under police surveillance following inputs indicating her involvement in drug peddling.
Besides Zareena, officials said her daughter and son-in-law were also picked up by police during the raid.
“We have taken three individuals into custody. Their roles are being examined, and based on that, arrests will be made. We are continuing raids at other suspected locations,” Aslam said.
Three drug peddlers --Pardeep Singh of Hiranagar, Rahees Butt of Billawar and Ali Sen of Amritsar (Punjab) -- were arrested along with heroin at different places in Kathua district, a police spokesman said.
He said while 2.79 gm of heroin was seized from Singh, 2.66 gm were recovered Butt. Similarly, 303 gm of heroin was seized from Sen who was intercepted near Berrian-Pattan village while moving in a private car from Bhagthali to Maggar Khad on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.
All the three were booked under the NDPS Act and further investigations are on, the spokesman said.
In Udhampur, the spokesman said properties worth Rs 73 lakh were attached in two separate cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The attached properties included a newly constructed residential house, a car, a motorcycle and a mobile phone with a total value of Rs 65 Lakh, belonging to accused Saif Ali who was booked under the NDPS case in Majalta area early this year, he said.
In another action, movable property worth Rs 8 lakh comprising a car, belonging to accused Danish Butt of Doda has been attached under Section 68(F) NDPS Act in connection with an FIR registered at Rehambal police station, the spokesman said.
