Five hurt in clash over open defecation

Five persons were injured in a clash over the issue of open defecation in Buransi village here, police said today.
A number of villagers, mostly Dalits, used to defecate in a field owned by one Satyapal Singh, an upper caste, who had been objecting to it stressing that it should not be carried out when the field was being irrigated, police said.
The matter, brewing for past few days, reached a flash point yesterday resulting in a clash in which both the sides used brickbats and lathis resulting in injuries to five persons from both sides, police said.
The Dalits have in their FIR alleged that following the clash in the field, some upper caste members barged into their homes and went on the rampage.

Senior SP Rajesh Pandey told PTI that complaints had been lodged with the police against seven named and 28 unnamed persons. Patrolling in the area has been intensified, he said.