Palanpur: Dalit woman Lilaben (52) from Rantej village in Mehsana had to come back without millet as the village shopkeeper refused to give her 2kg grain. Forty-eight-year-old Lalabhai Rathod was denied cooking oil. There are several such instances where dalits from the village have been refused items of daily need."We have been boycotted by the upper caste Hindus of the village," said Mohanbhai Rathod, a member of Rantej village Panchyat. "They have not just boycotted us socially but also imposed penalty of Rs 2,001 on whosoever in the village is found dealing with dalits. Besides social boycott the upper caste members have refused to retain us even as farm labourers," said Amrut Rathod, a dalits community member from the village."After filing a police complaint late on Friday against eight people of the village under SC/ST Atrocity (prevention) Act, we have given a memorandum to district collector of Mehsana, who has assured us to solve the problem," said Amrut.D D Nayak, assistant social welfare officer at Mehsana, said that he along with his deputy director, sub-divisional magistrate Baucharaji, taluka development officer and police sub-inspector Baucharaji, and others held a meeting with both groups and tried to solve issue.The issue cropped up when the upper caste Hindus invited the dalits for a feast during a religious function. The dalits refused to attend as they were asked to have meals separately some 50 feet away from the upper caste members. Following this, dalits decided not to dispose of carcasses in the village.

Stay updated with all the Latest Rajkot headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.