Mahoba (Uttar Pradesh), Jun 2 (IANS): With just over a fortnight left for his wedding, a Dalit youth in Mahoba district has sought police protection to ride a horse from his house to a nearby temple for a pre-marriage ritual.

There have been several instances where Dalits have been penalized by upper caste members if they rode a horse on their wedding.

Alakhram Ahirwar has given an application to Mahobkanth police in Mahoba, asking them to provide security for the ritual at the temple ahead of his June 18 wedding.

Station house officer (SHO) Mahobkanth, Sunil Tiwari, told reporters that the groom had given in writing that he wanted police protection as he desired to ride a horse at the pre-nuptial ceremony.

"We have given permission so that Alakhram can fulfil his wish. The situation is normal and there is no chance of any kind of disturbance. We will also provide security to the applicant and hope the pre-marriage rituals are solemnized peacefully," the SHO said.

The panchayat has also given its consent to the youth to ride a horse on his wedding day. "There is no objection from the panchayat side as everyone has the right to ride horse, irrespective of caste and religion," said Mahipat Shriwas, village head of Kashipur gram panchayat.

Earlier, Alakhram had sought support from various social organisations on social media platforms to help him fulfil his dream of riding a horse on his wedding day.