Police beat Rajasthani tribals for 'deceptive' look

ABOHAR: Speaking Hindi and their deceptive look has proved dear for some natives of Rajasthan. Some members, including women, of a scheduled tribe from Padampur area of desert state allegedly have had to face the wrath of the Abohar police on Thursday evening as they "resemble criminal" in the eyes of the police.
As the police were eager to maintain ''law and order'' in the town on the eve of Independence Day, it chased the poor tribe men and women from Abohar after giving them a severe thrashing on Thursday evening.
Some members of the Banjara clan from Padampur area of Rajasthan were camping in Abohar for the one week to participate in an animal mela for making sale and purchase of animals.
On Thursday when police parties were patrolling the area, a police party reached the victims in a grain market here. After questioning their credentials, the police asked them to leave the town.
When some members put up some resistance the police beat them up and chased them from the town.
Manwinder Singh, Station House Officer Abohar, said that the victims were members of a criminal tribe who was involved in a number of incidents of loot in the area. He said that members were chased from the town to maintain law and order here.
While, almost of all members had left Abohar on Thursday evening, a member of the community still staying in Abohar told that the policemen thrashed them without any reason; calling them thieves and scoundrels.
He told that for the last many years they were visiting the town and nearby villages to participate in animal fairs but never given such treatment by the police before.