Gujjars clash with police, stop trains in Uttar Pradesh

By IANS,

Lucknow : Members of the Gujjar community Friday fought a pitched battle with the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district and disrupted rail traffic for about two hours, the police said.


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In order to resume train services, the police cane-charged the Gujjars, who later hurled stones at the Firozabad railway station, over 400-kilometre from Lucknow.

No one was injured in the incident, police added.

Firozabad Superintendent of Police Vijay Singh told IANS: “In order to prevent the community members from being unruly, we resorted to lathi charge.”

In the wake of the Gujjars’ protest, adequate arrangements have been made in the district, added Singh.

In Rajasthan, while the Gujjars have been classified as other backward classes (OBCs), they want ST status like the Meenas and a share of the quota pie. Ironically, OBCs get 27 percent reservation and STs 7.5 percent, but the perception is that the community will get a larger share of the quota pie with ST status.

The community had held similar protests all over Rajasthan from May 29 to June 4 last year. Normal life was paralysed and at least 26 people were killed in the violence that seemed headed towards a caste war between Meenas and Gujjars last year.

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