Dalits fleeing from UP village, police rebuff reports

A resident of Shobhapur village in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut on Monday claimed that after the Bharat Bhandh protest, the Dalit families are migrating from the area as they are living in fear.

Charan, a resident of Shobhapur village told ANI that if the atrocities against them continued then they will be compelled to convert their religion.

"After April 2 protests (SC/ST act), we have been living in fear, the Dalit families are migrating from the village. Police have been threatening us. If this continues we will be compelled to convert to some other religion," Charan said.

Meanwhile, Meerut Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Prashant Kumar rebuffed all the allegations and said that the police are taking care that no innocent is troubled.

"This is a false allegation that Dalit families are migrating from Shobhapur village. Police are acting against those who are accused, no innocent is being troubled. Some people might have left the village but those are people who are rumoured to be involved in violence," Kumar said.

After two days of Bandh, a Dalit leader Gopi was found murdered.

Gopi was one of them, whose name was first written on top of a "list of violent protesters during the Bharat Bandh" that went viral. However, it is still not revealed that who exactly prepared that list.

The villagers have also alleged that the names of Dalits were also registered in an FIR whether they were involved in the protest or not.

The Dalit community has always complained of being marginalised and oppressed due to their social location in the rigidly stratified caste system.

The community has recently, called a nationwide bandh on April 2 against Supreme Court's March 20 order that banned automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The Bandh had claimed lives of more than 8 people and injured many.