Caste council in Rajasthan ostracises 40 Dalit families

Jaipur, June 30 (IANS) A caste council in a village in Rajasthan's Udaipur district ordered residents to ostracize 40 Dalit families when one of them disobeyed its dictat to stop constructing a new house, police said.

According to police, the incident took place Cheepala village in Udaipur district, some 400 km from Jaipur.

"A Dalit family was constructing a house in the village. The neighbour who belonged to Rajput community objected to the construction of a sun shed and demanded that the entire portion of the house on his side be razed down," said a police officer.

He added that when the family did not raze down the portion, the neighbour approached the caste council in the village.

"It slapped a fine of Rs.21,000 on the dalit family and ordered to expel all the 40 families belonging to Dalits in the village from the society. It means that they would not be able to mingle with others and would not be able to buy grocery items from the shops. Supply of milk, water and other items were also prohibited," said the officer.

These Dalit families approached the police Friday evening and lodged a case.

"We are investigating the case," said the officer.