Days after protest,Dalit man attacked,loses legs

Dadri: Tika Ram was found unconscious on railway tracks on July 20

A 24-year-old Dalits legs had to be amputated after he was found on the rail tracks near a Greater Noida village last Friday,days after he protested alleged attempts by Gujjars to sell off land that the Dalits claim belongs to them.

Police said they found Tika Ram unconscious,his legs mutilated,on the rail tracks near Ramgarh in Dadri on July 20 morning. He was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi where his legs were amputated. On Wednesday,a doctor attending to Tika Ram said he was out of danger.

Studying B.Ed at a Dadri college,he was to take an examination the morning he was found on the tracks.

Rajesh Kumar Verma,Station House Officer,Dadri police station,said: We have registered a case of kidnapping and attempt to murder and arrested Anil Bhati and Dayaram,both Gujjars.

Dadri District Magistrate M K S Sundaram said he had asked the Sub Divisional Magistrate to carry out an inquiry and submit a report by Thursday.

Tika Rams family is one of 70 who were allotted land in the village by the Mayawati government to build houses,residents said. Several Gujjars,they said,had sold land to a real estate developer and were asking Dalits to sell their plots as well.

Tika Rams family alleged that last December,a few Gujjars grabbed the land the Dalits owned and built a wall to keep them out.

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Tika Ram took part in a protest staged by the Dalits in Delhi on July 15. The family suspects that this led to the attack on him.

His mother Sheela said: The Gujjars have been threatening us ever since they grabbed our land. Since my son was attacked,we have even stopped sending our children to school,and dont step out of home after dark.

The Revolutionary Youth Association,which has been backing the Dalits on the issue,alleged that the attack on Tika Ram was the latest in a series of violent acts against the community.

Despite repeated protests,the Gautam Budh Nagar district administration has not acted to end the illegal encirclement of Dalit land, alleged Aslam Khan of the RYA,the youth wing of the CPI ML.

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Srinath Rao,who studied at EXIMS,is on an internship with The Indian Express