In the ongoing casteist slur on Olympics hockey player matter, a third arrest has been made and one among the accused is a former hockey player. Earlier, the entire nation was brought to shame when a group of youths in Indian hockey player Vandana Katariya’s locality burst crackers and hurled casteist slurs on her and her family after India was defeated by Argentina.
Details
It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child, and a child to burn a village. The notion was brought to a reality when the Indian hockey team – along with the entire nation – was brought to shame after a bunch of youths allegedly burst crackers near Vandana Kataria’s residence and passed casteist remarks.
Also Read: Indian Women’s Hockey Team Misses Bronze Medal by Whisker, Loses to Great Britain by 3-4
What Happened on August 4?
On August 4, Indian women’s hockey team was outplayed by Argentina despite a tough fight and were sent back home from Olympics. The team suffered a 1-2 loss and also couldn’t register one more victory that would’ve secured a medal for the team.
Despite the loss, the team was appreciated and acknowledged for putting up a great fight and for having a wonderful season at the 2020 Olympics. But the glory was taken away when just hours after the defeat, 2 men, who are allegedly from an upper-caste, hurled casteist slurs to abuse hockey star Vandana Katariya’s faimly in Haridwar.
The Casteist Remark That Stirred Nation
According to Times of India, a member of Katariya’s family claimed that the two men said that India lost match as it had “too many Dalit players” in the team. Further, the family also heard noise of firecrackers outside their house. Katariya’s brother was quoted saying-
“When we went outside, we saw two men from our village – we know them and they are upper castes – dancing in front of our house.”
Kataria’s brother Shekhar in his complaint to police also said-
“They went on saying that it’s not just hockey but every sport that should keep Dalits out,”
as quoted by The Scroll.
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The Immediate Outrage, Subsequent Arrest
After the incident was reported, it was the cause of a massive outrage across the nation with masses raising their voices against the shameful act. The same day, the police arrested Vijay Pal and Ankur Pal – two brothers who were involved in the act. Ironically enough, Vijay himself is a hockey player and used to play with Vandana about 7 years ago.
Third Arrest Made
On Saturday, the police arrested a third person from Uttarakhand who was also involved in the incident. The third person arrested is 22-year-old Sumit who was picked up by the police when it received a tip-off. All three men have been booked under Indian Penal Code’s relevant sections and SC/ST Act’s relevant sections.
Also Read: Neeraj Chopra Creates History – Bags India’s First Ever Javelin Throw Gold Medal in Olympics
Captain of Rani Rampal & Co. Leads by Example
Meanwhile, Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal led by example and took a stand for her team. She was vocal about the shameful behaviour and said that if India wants to make itself a big sporting nation, it needs to end abuse.
“Our team works together and is above all such things,”
-captain Rampal said.
“We belong to different religions. Some are Hindu; some are Muslim; some are Sikhs. We come from different parts of the country. Some come from the North, some from the East and South. When we play at this level, we only look at the fact that we are playing for India. We work for that Indian flag. We give our blood, sweat and tears for that flag,”
-she added.
