A Dalit man was thrashed allegedly by a group of upper-caste youth for riding a mare to his bride’s house in Sanjarwas village of Charkhi Dadri district on Tuesday night, the Indian Express reported on Thursday. The groom, Sanjay Kumar of Dhani Rivasa village, and some other members of the marriage party were injured and hospitalised. The ceremony was performed under tight security after Kumar was discharged from hospital.

The marriage party was on its way to the bride’s place when some villagers objected to the groom riding a mare, reported The Tribune. This led to a scuffle between the two groups and the locals allegedly thrashed Kumar.

The bride’s father, Rohtash Singh, has lodged a complaint with the police against 20 people. Sarpanch Vikash Singh said that some unscrupulous elements had tried to create a ruckus and dismissed reports of a caste conflict.

The Station House Officer of Baund Police Station, Vikram Singh, said they had registered a First Information Report against 15-16 members of the Rajput community for attacking the Dalits. “We are conducting raids to the nab the accused,” he said.

In March, violence had broken out in a village in Karnal after upper-caste men prevented a Dalit groom from carrying out the marriage ritual of ghurchari, where the groom rides a mare around the village before heading to the bride’s house.