MEERUT: Cops from three police stations were deployed in a Bulandshahr village on Sunday after a Dalit CRPF jawan sought police protection to take out his wedding procession, in an area where a Dalit groom riding a mare is "frowned upon". Roughly 70 policemen kept a strict vigil in the village, from terraces to crossings. The deployment continued on Monday and would go on for a couple of days, cops said.

Gaurav Kumar, 30, posted in the 164 Battalion of CRPF in Jammu & Kashmir, had requested the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Bulandshahr for police deployment in his village, Gadhana, in order to ensure a "peaceful wedding" on Sunday.

The groom sought protection citing an eight-month-old incident in his village, in which a man was killed during a fight that took place between Dalits and Thakurs during a wedding. Thakurs had objected to "too much pomp and show" at the wedding, as well as the"ghudchadi" ritual of the groom riding a mare to the wedding venue.

“All I wanted was a peaceful wedding. I am a government servant and cannot say much about the caste equations of the village. However, I was apprehensive because of last year's brawl in a wedding,” Kumar told TOI.

Upon Kumar’s request, around 70 cops from three nearby police stations were deployed in the village. The police personnel conducted a march past before the "ghudchadi", which the CRPF jawan was able to conduct without any problem. The wedding became the talk of the area as such police deployment was never seen there, especially for a wedding.

“The number of police personnel was almost equal to the number of guests at the wedding,” said Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Gadhana, who alleged that he had "never seen such a wedding by a member of the Dalit community in the village".

Meanwhile, SSP Santosh Kumar Singh refuted claims of any kind of law and order issue in the village, or objections by the upper-caste community to Dalit weddings.

“The request for the police force was made by the CRPF jawan just because he was apprehensive that something untoward may happen during the wedding and the deployment was made thereafter,” Singh said. While Kumar along with his bride left the village on Monday, police deployment continued in the area to prevent any tension after the ceremony.

“The number of police personnel was decreased as the wedding happened peacefully. We will keep a couple of men deployed in the village even in the days to come to ensure nothing untoward happens,” SP (city) Surendra Nath Tiwari said .