A Dalit family was allegedly attacked by a group of men for organising a wedding at a marriage hall in Rasra town of Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, police said on Sunday (June 1).

The incident took place late Friday night and left two family members seriously injured, news agency PTI reported.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), around 20 assailants armed with sticks and rods stormed the Swayamvar Marriage Hall around 10:30 p.m. and launched a violent assault on the wedding party. The attackers allegedly shouted casteist abuse and questioned the Dalit family’s right to host a wedding in a formal venue, saying, “Being from a Dalit community, how can you hold a wedding in a hall?”

The FIR, filed by Raghvendra Gautam, brother of one of the victims, names Aman Sahni, Deepak Sahni, Rahul, and Akhilesh as the key accused, along with 15–20 unidentified individuals from the nearby Mallah Toli locality. 

The attackers allegedly used caste-based slurs and forcefully objected to the family’s use of the marriage hall for the ceremony.

Gautam’s relatives, Ajay Kumar and Manan Kant, sustained serious injuries in the assault and are currently undergoing medical treatment.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. No arrests have been made so far.

Rasra Police Station in-charge Vipin Singh confirmed the incident and said an investigation is underway.