Rajput community members allegedly hurled stones at a wedding procession of two Dalit brothers near the stretch of a highway in Mathura on Wednesday night.
Bhagwan Das, the uncle of grooms Ashok Kumar and Kuldeep Kumar, told reporters on Thursday that the marriage procession started at 11pm from the Bharatpur crossing at Narholi, where the brides, Lakshi Kumari and Punam Kumari, stay.
“The grooms were holding a picture of Ambedkar. The Rajputs objected to the picture and said they would not allow a Dalit’s baraat to pass through their area,” Das said.
He said some baraatis dared the Rajputs to stop them, prompting them to hurl stones at the procession. “Soon, a full-blown fight erupted. The attackers didn’t spare even the cops when they arrived at the spot,” Das added.
Meena Thakur, a Rajput woman, claimed that the Dalits had attacked them first. “The baraatis barged into a sweet shop and ransacked it. They also threw stones on local youths when they tried to save the shopkeeper,” she said.
Mathura city SP Rajiv Kumar Singh said a case had been registered against 16 people and an inquiry was underway.