12, Oct 2015

Kautilya Singh, TNN | Oct 12, 2015, 09.51PM IST
GABELA (DEHRADUN) : It is a nearly four-hour drive from Dehradun to Gabela village. Nestled in the picturesque hills of Sahiya about 125 km from the state capital, Gabela has been in the eye of a storm since a group of Dalits were reportedly denied entry in a local temple on October 5.
On a relatively cold Monday afternoon, the adrenalin ran high and tension was visible on the faces of everyone present in the small village as the Dalit group was to offer prayers in the temple in presence of senior district officials.
While the Dalit group, led by a police jeep, left for Gabela about 10am, senior district officials, police teams from Kalsi and Vikas Nagar and members of revenue police took their positions in the village.
By 2pm, all possible measures had been initiated to ensure that when the Dalit group led by Daulat Kunwar arrived at the temple, the locals were not to be seen around. For about 45 minutes, Kunwar and his team offered prayers, clicked selfies, hugged each other and congratulated everyone for “the victory of Dalits.”