Kanpur, Mar 31: A Dalit woman has alleged she was not allowed to offer prayers during a ‘Bhagwat Katha’ programme at Narkhurd village by some upper caste men and has threatened to embrace Islam alongwith her husband, police said today.
The woman, identified as Jai Devi (in her mid-30s) has also alleged that the youths threw her ‘Aarti Thali’ away as they denied her the opportunity to offer prayers on March 22, Deputy IG Ratankant Pandey said.
Devi has filed a complaint with the Rasoolabad police station against five people — Narendra, Ajay, Rohit, Ambika and Chandrashekhar — accusing them of throwing away her ‘Aarti Thali’ and disallowing her from performing the ritual, Pandey said.
The women has also alleged that the youths manhandled her and passed abusive and casteist slurs when she resisted them, which led to a sense of resentment among Dalits, according to the DIG.
The woman’s husband has lodged an FIR under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the organiser and his four aides, he said, adding investigations are on.
Devi said she and her husband have decided to embrace Islam if action was not taken against the culprits soon.
“We have decided to embrace Islam and offer prayers in mosque if the police let the accused men roam about freely,” she told PTI over phone.
