Hathras case: Clashes between Valmiki community members, police officers in Agra

Scores of Valmiki community members who were protesting against the Hathras incident clashed with the police here on Saturday. The protesters pelted stones at the policemen and official vehicles.

Police personnel were deployed at the clash site outside a municipal corporation office in Kothi Meena Bazaar area of the Taj city, officials said. Some visuals purportedly showed that thee Valmiki community members from Rajnagar in Lohamandi reached the municipal corporation office and pelted stones at the civic body's garbage collection vehicles at around 12 noon.

Later, dozens of policemen, some of them in anti-riot gears, reached the site and the agitated crowd started pelting stones at them, too, even as traffic on the road remained obstructed during the clash, they showed. Adequate police force has reached the incident site with senior officials. Efforts are underway to restore normalcy and law and order, a statement by Agra police said.

The incident wherein a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras by four men on September 14 has been widely condemned across the country. The agitation by Balmikis came even as police conducted flag marches in parts of the district for creating awareness on coronavirus.