Four men were taken into custody for allegedly assaulting a Dalit groom, Vikas Chavda, for riding a horse during his wedding procession in Chadasana village, Gandhinagar district, Gujarat. The incident, which took place on Monday afternoon, was confirmed by an official from the Mansa police station on Tuesday.
According to a complaint lodged by the groom’s cousin, Sanjay Chavda, the groom and approximately 100 procession participants were en route to the bride’s house when a man on a motorcycle intercepted the procession. The man allegedly dragged the groom off the horse and slapped him.
The complaint further stated that the accused hurled casteist slurs at the groom, objecting to him riding the horse and claiming that only members of his community have the right to do so. Following this, three more individuals joined the accused, and all four began to abuse and threaten the groom.
As a result of the incident, the groom was forced to switch to a four-wheeler to reach the bride’s house for the wedding.
The four accused, identified as Sailesh Thakore, Jayesh Thakore, Samir Thakore, and Ashwin Thakore, all belong to the OBC community. They have been arrested and charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 114 (abettor present when offence committed), and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation). They have also been booked under relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
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