Tension prevails after police crack down on Dalits protesting 'caste wall' [Video]
- Dalit outfits said they had been protesting against the alleged "caste wall" constructed by local unit of the NSS on a "public land" for the last 10 months.
- The police said several activists of Dalit rights organisations assembled in Vadayambadi to take out a march and to organise a convention.
- A group of people, claiming to be members of a right-wing Hindu outfit, also assembled there opposing the march.
FollowTension prevailed in Vadayambady near Kochi after two groups of people came face to face over the issue of a wall built on a ground adjacent to a temple.
Dalit outfits said they had been protesting against the alleged "caste wall" constructed by local unit of the Nair Service Society (NSS) on a "public land" adjacent to Bhajana Madom Devi Temple for the last 10 months.
The police said several activists of Dalit rights organisations assembled in Vadayambady on Sunday to take out a march and to organise a convention to uphold the self-esteem of Dalits.
A group of people, claiming to be members of a right-wing Hindu outfit, also assembled there opposing the march. In a bid to avoid clash between the two groups, police intervened and over 100 people were arrested. They were released later, the police said.
Dalit leaders, however, alleged that the police did not arrest the activists of the right-wing Hindu outfit, who tried to create trouble in the area. The police said the situation has been brought under control.
The development came a day after the District Collector held a meeting of the socio-political group from the area to resolve the crisis. After the meeting, collector Mohammed Y Safirullah had said no "caste wall" would be permitted.
The local NSS leadership claimed that the wall was constructed on the land owned by the temple. The Dalit organisations have challenged the claim by the local NSS leadership. They urged the authorities to cancel the land title deed issued to NSS some years back.
(With PTI inputs)
