Guj: Upper caste men object to Dalit groom on horseback, throw

The wedding procession of a Dalit man was taken out under police protection in Gujarat's Banaskantha district on Sunday after some upper caste people objected to the groom sitting on a horse and pelted stones, an official said.

The incident happened in Sandipada village when the wedding procession of Akash Kotdia (27), an Army jawan posted in Jammu and Kashmir, was underway amid objections from some upper caste community members, Dalapatbhai Bhatia, president of Dalit Samaj, Banaskantha said.

"Kotdia had come to his native village for marriage a a few days back. When we tried to ignore the objections raised by upper caste members of the village, they pelted stones. A 60-year-old man and some women playing garba were injured, and a DJ sound system was damaged," he said.

Ironically, the horse itself belonged to a man from the upper caste Thakor community, he said.

"We approached the police which gave us protection," he said.

A Gadh police station official said the situation was under control and an FIR was being registered against the persons who indulged in stone pelting.