Jat Colony

The Mirchpur caste violence also known as the Mirchpur Dalit killings was an incident of violence against the Balmiki Dalits by upper caste Jat villagers in the village of Mirchpur, Haryana on April 21, 2010. A 70-year-old man and his polio affected disabled daughter of 17 years old were burnt alive when a mob of 300 to 1000 Jat villagers set fire to houses in the Balmiki colony where 18 houses were burnt down. 258 Dalit families fled the village over a span of the next eight years. The problems started after a dog barked at a group of Jat youth while they were passing by a Balmiki colony. One of the Jat youth hurled a brick at the dog, only to be objected by a young Dalit which turned into an altercation between both parties. The Jat threatened all Balmikis with dire consequences. The Balmiki Dalits went to Jats of the village to douse the issue but they too were beaten badly. In August 2018, the High court convicted 33 people for the violence and sentenced 12 to life imprisonment.