Half a dozen people were injured in a clash between members of the Thakur and Dalit communities over a land dispute at Lalwala village of Deoband in Saharanpur district on Saturday.
The Uttar Pradesh administration has deployed police personnel to prevent any recurrence of violence.
Naresh Kumar, a Dalit villager, told reporters he had given two bighas of land to Ravindra Kumar Rana for contract farming a few years ago but he refused to return it after the deadline expired.
"Rana also manipulated documents and got his name registered in the revenue department records as the owner of the land. Recently, I met the senior district administrative officers during a public hearing programme and requested them to help me reclaim my land. They called Rana but couldn’t convince him to give it back to me,” Naresh added.
Naresh said he contacted Bhim Sena members, who decided to help him. "They met me today (Saturday) and we went to take back my land. The Thakurs first pelted us with stones and then opened fire. As the news spread, Dalit villagers gathered at the site and threw stones at the Thakurs,” Naresh said, adding that the local administration and the cops were supporting members of the Thakur community as they were politically connected.
Circle officer Abhitesh Bhati said: “The situation is peaceful after the violence. The injured have been admitted to a local community health centre. We have deployed police and paramilitary forces to restore peace in the village.” Rana said he had bought 32 bighas of land from Naresh's father.