UP: Six injured in Aligarh group clash over low wage

AGRA: Over six persons sustained injuries in a clash that broke out between groups of Dalits and upper caste landlords in Aligarh’s Madhavgarh area over a dispute on low labour rates being paid to them.
Police have registered cases against both the groups based on a complaint and counter-complaint filed by them. A video of the clash went viral on social media.
According to the victim, Poonam, who reached Aligarh SSP office on Tuesday, upper caste landlords were only paying them fifty percent of their agreed labour rates. She said, “We all decided not to do work in their fields and told them the same."

She said the landlords, led by Gajendra Singh, came to her house in the morning and assaulted her family members including her as they refused to do work. She said, her cousin sister, who is two and a half month pregnant, was also kicked by them, when she argued with the Thakurs.
“They had used sticks and stones to thrash us,” alleged Poonam, adding that they threatened her neighbours not to help them else they too would be beaten. She also alleged that police did not help them when they approached the local police station to register an FIR.
However, SP (crime) Arvind Kumar said that this was not in his knowledge, but he will inquire into it. He said, the FIR has been registered now under various sections of IPC and investigations are on. He said, action will be taken on the basis of the investigation report.
Dharampal Singh from Dalit family, who was also allegedly beaten along with his family members during the clash, filed a complaint against 25 persons including 15 unidentified ones. A counter-complaint was filed by the one Gajendra Singh from the landlord’s family against 14 persons from the Dalit family and their relatives.