Haryana: Villagers set Dalit houses ablaze, 2 dead

Hisar, Apr 22: Two people were killed and several others injured when a group of the villagers set a fire to houses of Dalits at Mirchpur village on Wednesday, Apr 21.

An armed group of villagers stormed the locality housing Dalit families and set about a dozen houses ablaze, The Tribune reported.

A disabled girl, said to be suffering from polio, and her father were killed in the incident. While the girl, identified as Suman, was burnt to death in the fire as she was unable to rescue herself; her father, who suffered serious burn injuries, succumbed later in a hospital.

The communities of the Mirchpur village have reportedly been involved in a decade-long fight. The tension resurfaced on Wednesday, Apr 21 noon leading to this incident.

According to The Tribune, the dispute began in 2000 when the Dalit families wanted to dig a pond on a piece of land which they claimed possession to. The villagers were against this. Since then there have been sporadic incidents of clashes and violence have been reported.

Quoting sources Tribune News Service reported on Wednesday, Apr 21 that the current incident was inspired by a minor incident which took place two days ago.

A 'higher caste' youth was reportedly playing in a Dalit house when a dog barked at him. When he threw a stone at the dog, arguments broke out between the Dalits and villagers from other communities.

While 25 people have been detained and a case as been registered, police is still in the village trying to thwart any further violence or untoward incidents.

OneIndia News