Dalit groom beaten for riding horse in Bikaner

A Dalit groom was allegedly beaten by upper caste people for riding a horse at a village in Napasar area in the district on Wednesday night, police said.

According to police, people from the Rajput community in Belasar village of the district raised an objection when the groom belonging to the Meghwal community rode the horse.

"Rajputs were saying that there is no tradition of groom sitting on a horse in our village," Napasar police station in-charge Suman Parihar said.

She said that Rajputs beat up some people of the Meghwal community and one of the vehicles in the groom's convoy was also vandalised.

"Police reached the spot and ensured that marriage was conducted with traditions of Meghwal community," Parihar said.

A team of police is currently deployed at the spot to maintain peace, she added.

The bride's family member and villagers protested at Napasar police station, demanding the arrest of the accused.

Bride's father Poonam Chandra said that his community never interfered in the marriage of others.

"I was pleading not to disrupt our ceremony and was ready to bow to their feet. I told them that we never interfere in their marriages -- whether or not they ride a horse," he said.

In India, a large number of atrocities are committed against Dalits every year. As many as 422,799 crimes against Dalits or scheduled castes (SCs) and 81,332 crimes against Adivasis or scheduled tribes (STs) were reported between 2006 and 2016.

As per the Census 2011, Scheduled castes account for 16.6 per cent of India's population, which is up from 16.2 per cent in 2001. STs account for 8.6 per cent of the country's population, up from 8.2 percent over a decade.