'Not equal to us': Dalit student abused, dragged by hair for attending garba event in Gujarat; four women booked

Four women from Bharodi village in Gujarat's Mahisagar district were booked by the police for allegedly humiliating and abusing a Dalit woman and dragging her by the hair from a village garba event on Friday night, The Indian Express reported.

The complainant, 25-year-old Rinku Vankar, a fourth-year student at the Government Engineering College in Gandhinagar, lodged an FIR at Virpur police station. According to her statement, she had joined the garba along with a friend when the accused—identified as Loma Patel, Roshni Patel, Vrushti Patel, and Meena Patel confronted her.

According to Rinku, the women initially scolded and humiliated her for attending the event. During the argument, they allegedly used casteist slurs, saying, “These people are not equal to us and cannot play garba with us.” Rinku attempted to de-escalate the situation by switching off the garba music and complaining to Pravin Narsinh Thakor about the harassment. However, the women allegedly became aggressive, physically assaulting her.

She claimed that the women grabbed her by the hair, dragged her out of the venue, and prevented her from filming the incident. The FIR further mentions that the accused also threatened her with serious consequences if she tried to return to the garba in the future.