9 dead as Dalit groups clash with cops over SC/ST Act

​New Delhi: Nine people were killed, and hundreds detained on Monday as violence broke out in several states during Dalit protests against a Supreme Court order on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Multiple Dalit organisations have called for Bharat Bandh.

Five of the deaths took place in Madhya Pradesh, in Morena, Gwalior and Bhind districts. Another person was killed in Rajasthan’s Alwar city after the police opened fire on protestors pelting stones. One person died in Uttar Pradesh. The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh requested the Union Home Ministry for Central forces. Several police personnel were reported injured in clashes with protestors.

As the nationwide bandh turned violent, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said she supported the protests but not the violence, adding that the government should take strict action against those involved.

The police detained more than 200 people in Meerut, and said they would be booked under the National Security Act. The Meerut police said a former Bahujan Samaj Party legislator was the main conspirator behind the violence in the city. In Jharkhand, the police detained over 1,600 people in Ranchi and East Sinhbhum districts.

The police in Punjab and Haryana baton-charged protestors as violent broke out at some places. Two people were injured in Bathinda while several vehicles and a shop were damaged in Kapurthala.

A video showed an unidentified man firing shots during protests in Gwalior. The police have blocked internet services in Gwalior district till 6 am on Tuesday and imposed a curfew in some parts of the city. Authorities also imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.

Several people were injured in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, after protestors clashed with the police. In Bhind, some protestors resorted to pelting stones at security personnel. The protest turned violent in Barmer in Rajashtan, where cars were set on fire and properties were damaged. The agitators damaged cars in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, too. A bus was set ablaze in Azamgarh, while a number of vehicles were torched in Muzaffarnagar. Violence was also reported from Hapur in western Uttar Pradesh.

A group of protestors blocked a train in Bihar’s Arrah district and at the railway station in Forbesganj. Protestors blocked the movement of trains in Sambalpur district of Odisha and Jalandhar in Punjab, too. There were protests in the city of Gandhidham in Gujarat’s Kutch district. Shops were forcibly closed in Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the Dalit groups to remain calm and not indulge in violence. He also asked political parties maintain peace. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said. “One can understand if people protest, but why is the opposition playing politics? Parties like the Congress who did not give Bharat Ratna to Bhimrao Ambedkar are now acting like his followers.”

The Punjab government on Sunday suspended mobile internet and public transport services in view of the strike. The internet services will remain suspended till 11 pm on Monday to prevent rumour-mongering on social media, the state government said.

The state government also asked all educational institutions to remain closed on Monday. The Central Bureau of Secondary Education postponed all Class 10 and Class 12 exams in Punjab. In the Union Territory of Chandigarh, exams will be held as per schedule.