Dalit assaulted in Jamnagar over caste issue

A house-keeping staff of the Civil Hospital in Jamnagar was allegedly beaten by the security guards of the hospital yesterday, leading to a severe head injury, according to members of the Valmiki Samaj.

The injured lady was later taken to the trauma care of the hospital, where she received 12 stiches on her head. According to unconfirmed reports two women were assaulted.

Dalit community leaders of Jamnagar, who intervened in the matter, after the police lodged complaints against members of the sweepers’ community, claimed that the lady in question was abused over her caste by members of the upper caste. When the lady protested the use of the language by members of the upper caste, she was allegedly beaten with batons by the security guards.

When the situation aggravated, police, led by senior officers, arrived to control the situation. Some unknown persons are said to have pelted the police with stones, following which the police lodged complaints against the sweepers’ community.

The Dalit community leaders questioned the police for registering cases against the victims of the violence, all of whom are Dalit, while the attackers were allowed to go scotfree. The leaders have submitted a letter to the police giving details of the incident and have sought registration of complaints under Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities).