Caste row leads to shooting, triggers night-long violence in Dadri

Gujjar man shoots dead one from Brahmin family; mob takes to streets, burns vehicles, hurls stones at police.

One person was shot dead and four injured — two critically — on Wednesday night in Dadri, leading to caste-based clashes that continued till Thursday afternoon. Vehicles were torched and damaged and stones were pelted, resulting in minor injuries for several policemen.

Police said the Wednesday night stand-off between two families — Brahmin and Gujjar — was the fallout of a girl being harassed.

Though the situation had been brought under control, police said a battalion of the PAC and additional police force had been deployed in the area. Three persons have been arrested.

Residents of Brahmpuri Mohalla said tension was simmering from Tuesday, when the case of the alleged harassment first came to light.

"We have had a tense situation for some time now. The area is Gujjar dominated, but the chairman is Brahmin. Three days ago, a Gujjar man called Gagan teased the daughter of a local farmer, Moolchand Sharma (a Brahmin). Though Moolchand checked Gagan, he did not stop harassing the girl. On Thursday, around 4 pm, Gagan again passed some comment at the girl, to which Moolchand reacted and a fight broke out. This prompted Moolchand to go to the local kotwali to file a complaint," Sudeep Tyagi, a resident, said.

Moolchand's relative Prem Pal Sharma said: "It was after two hours at the police station that they agreed to accept our complaint. Around 8 pm, Gagan and his friends came to our house and there was another fight. They first fired in the air and then shot at three of our family members."

Police confirmed that Ravinder Sharma (20) died on way to Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida and brothers Deepak and Bunty admitted in the hospital. Their condition is said to be critical.

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