Communal Tension Erupts in Meerut after the Store Owner beats Dalit Boy for Demanding a Pending Payment for Cleaning his Store

According to reports, community tension erupted in Meerut after some people from the Muslim community beat a Dalit child. The incident took place in the Bhagat Singh market area near Hapur Adda in Meerut. Victim Dalit boy Ankush works as a sweeper in a complex located in the market. One of the attackers identified as Shahrukh, son of Yunus, owns a tea shop on the first floor of the complex where the victim works as a sweeper. Ankush also used to clean the Shahrukh store.

According to Ankush, while other merchants in the market pay him regularly, Shahrukh always delays the payment. This time also, Shahrukh has not paid him money for several months. Therefore, when he went to Shahrukh’s shop to demand payment on Sunday morning, Shahrukh refused to do so. This started a heated argument between the two, and after that Ankush was assaulted by Shahrukh and few other people present in the store. After that Ankush called some of his friends and the clash broke out between the two groups, and the store was damaged in the process. The fight stopped when the police arrived after some time.

On the other hand, Shahrukh states that it was Ankush who started the fight. He says that Ankush and some of his friends came to his store and started breaking things, which led to the fight.

Meanwhile, the owners of other stores in the area closed their stores after the fight started and started making slogans. Some people also blocked the Hapur booth, creating great chaos.

Upon obtaining information about the incident, the police arrived at the site quickly for fear of a communal clash, since the area is commonly sensitive. The DIG sent the police forces from nearby stations. The police also cleared the jam at the Hapur booth after dispersing the crowd.

The matter was finally resolved after SP City became aware of the matter and pacified both parties. The injured were admitted to the nearby hospital.