Incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab as protesters agitated against the dilution of the SC/ST Act.
READ: 'Modi is not defending SC/ST Atrocities Act'
ALSO: Bharat bandh: CBSE postpones exams in Punjab
IMAGE: Police personnel takes away an activist during Bharat Bandh in Moradabad. Photograph: PTI Photo
Dalit protesters blocked trains, clashed with police and set fire to vehicles in violent protests across seven states against the alleged dilution of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, leaving at least four people dead and many injured on Monday, officials said.
Curfew was imposed in several places and the army was called out in Bhind district in Madhya Pradesh. The army and paramilitary forces were also put on standby in Punjab.
IMAGE: Members of the Dalit community block a road disrupting traffic movement during the Bharat Bandh in Gujarat's Ahmedabad. Photograph: Santosh Hirlekar/PTI Photo
Transport and communications services were severely hit in many states with over 100 trains getting affected due to protests against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act, even as the Centre moved the Supreme Court seeking review of its recent judgement in the matter, maintaining that the verdict will violate constitutional rights of these communities.
While some states ordered closure of educational institutions, and curtailed internet and mobile services, incidents of arson, firing and vandalism were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, among other states.
IMAGE: In Rajasthan's Barmer, cars were burnt and damaged as the protests turned violent. Photograph: @ANI/Twitter
“Two people were killed in Gwalior while one person each died in Bhind and Morena districts in cross-firing during protests,” Inspector General (Law and Order) Makrand Deoskar said in Bhopal.
The Union home ministry also asked states to take preventive steps and maintain public order to ensure safety of lives and property, and rushed 800 anti-riot policemen to Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed for peace, while Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government was not a party to the Supreme Court decision on the SC/ST Act and “respectfully” did not agree with its reasoning behind the verdict.
IMAGE: Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular activists stop a train at Rajendra Nagar Terminal during Bharat Bandh against the dilution of provisions for the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Act, in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo
Prasad also said the government has filed a very comprehensive review petition in the matter.
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, a prominent Dalit leader and head of National Democratic Party constituent Lok Janshakti Party, appreciated the government’s quick decision to file the petition and accused the Congress of having done nothing for Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that incidents of atrocities on Dalits and minorities have increased in the country since the NDA came to power in 2014, while Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended his support to the protesting groups.
IMAGE: At Forbesganj Junction in Bihar, protesters blocked the railway tracks to protest the dilution of the SC/ST Act. Photograph: @ANI/Twitter
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed for peace and urged the people not to vitiate law and order, as violence was reported from many districts including Azamgarh where protesters torched two state-run buses, injuring several passengers.
As protests turned violent in Agra, Hapur, Meerut in western UP, Director General of Police, O P Singh, said, “We have sought more force from the Centre that will be deployed there. We are keeping an eye on the situation, which is under control.”
Many trains, including premier Rajdhani and Shatabdi expresses, were stopped by protestors while some were short-terminated as precautionary measures.
A group of about 2,000 people disrupted trains at the Hapur station as well, disrupting the movement of many goods trains, railway officials added.
Protests were also witnessed at Ambala and Rohtak in Haryana as well as in Chandigarh.
IMAGE: Property was burnt and damaged during a protest in Amritsar. Photograph: PTI Photo
The CBSE has already postponed Class 12 and Class 10 examinations scheduled to be held on Monday in Punjab at the request of the state government in view of the ‘Bharat Bandh’.
In the national capital region, protesters squatted on tracks at several places, stopping trains, including the Dehradun Express and the Ranchi Rajdhani, while a Northern Railway official said services were also disrupted by a mob in Ghaziabad.
IMAGE: Shopkeepers sit outside their closed shops during Bharat Bandh in Amritsar. Photograph: PTI Photo
The protesters gathered at Mandi House in Delhi and blocked roads.
Shouting slogans of ‘Jai Bhim’, the protesters also blocked one of the carriageways of Barakhamba Road affecting traffic movement on the stretch, police said.
The Supreme Court had on March 20 diluted certain provisions of the SC/ST Act, in a bid to protect ‘honest’ public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the act.
The verdict is being widely criticised by the Dalits and the Opposition who claim that the dilution of the Act will lead to more discrimination and crimes against the backward community.
IMAGE: Protesters throw stones during Bharat Bandh in Ghaziabad. Photograph: PTI Photo
Nearly 30 people -- 20 from Ajmer and 10 from Jaipur -- were detained in Rajasthan as protesters blocked rail and road traffic and vandalised public properties.
IMAGE: Hundreds of protesters block the railway track in Ghaziabad. Photograph: PTI Photo
IMAGE: Vehicles set on fire by a group of protesters during Bharat Bandh call in Meerut. Photograph: PTI Photo
In Patna, MLAs from the opposition parties, as well as some from the ruling side, demanded a resolution be passed by the House urging the Centre to take adequate measures to undo the recent Supreme Court order on arrests under the SC/ST Act.
IMAGE: A bike set on fire by a group of protesters during Bharat Bandh in Ghaziabad. Photograph: PTI Photo
Protesters stormed the Patna Junction where they forced closure of the ticket booking counters and squatted on railway tracks disrupting movement of a number of trains.
IMAGE: Police personnel try to disperse the protesters who were trying to block the railway track during Bharat Bandh in Ghaziabad. Photograph: PTI Photo
WATCH: shots fired during protests in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior
WATCH: Protesters resort to stone pelting in Bhind during the Bharat Bandh
IMAGE: Dalits display a portrait of Bhimrao Ambedkar during Bharat Bandh in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo
Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP for the plight of Dalits and said he saluted “brothers and sisters” from the community who have hit the streets to demand protection of their rights from the Modi government.
Gandhi’s comments came as several Dalit organisations called for a nation-wide shutdown against the dilution of arrest provisions under the SC/ST Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court.
“It is in the DNA of the RSS/BJP to keep Dalits at the lowest level in Indian society. Any one who challenges this thought is crushed with violence.
“Our Dalit brothers and sisters are today on the streets demanding protection of their rights from the Modi Government. We salute them,” he said on Twitter.
Gandhi and his Congress party have slammed the BJP and the Modi government for its “anti-Dalit” mindset.