Congress nominee from Daltonganj K.N. Tripathi’s whipping out a gun at a polling booth for his “safety” in a village dominated by the backward class on voting day November 30 has bared the deep mistrust between the upper and lower castes in the constituency.

Tripathi is a Brahmin. His BJP rival Alok Chourasia is a part of the OBCs, among the most politically powerful communities in Jharkhand. Mahtos and Yadavs form a part of the OBCs.

Chainpur police, under which fall the Brahmin-dominated Purabdiha and a clutch of OBC-dominated villages, including Koshiyara where Tripathi pulled out his licensed gun, on Tuesday called around 60 people from the villages to talk. Sadar SDPO Sandip Kumar Gupta chaired the meeting on police station campus.

Here, retired teacher Ram Vyas said that an OBC vegetable seller, Ram Kewal Mahto, had gone to Brahmin-dominated village Purabdiha on Monday, but he was asked to leave due to the prevailing ill-will. Another participant Pradeep Dubey told SDPO Gupta that on Monday a Chourasia youth came up to Purabdiha village’s samosa shop and “ferociously started abusing Brahmin women and girls”.

Chainpur OC Sunit Kumar told The Telegraph that they had retrieved a few WhatsApp and Facebook messages from Brahmin teens who warned Chourasias to stay away from Purabdiha in “highly abusive and objectionable” language.

SP Palamau Ajay Linda said the police had picked up these youngsters and their parents. “We told them that any more nonsense that foments caste hatred will be dealt with most severely. The admin of the WhatsApp group is under police scanner.”

Elders of both camps on Tuesday showed willingness to bury the animosity. Alok Chourasia’s uncle Ram Lav Chourasia called for erasing the “trust deficit”. Tripathi’s close aide Ramsarekha Dubey called voting “a baraat where such khit pit (small fights) occur but should be forgotten in the larger interest”.

The Chourasiya and Tripathi camps have lodged criminal cases against each other. Sources said both camps would bargain for these cases be dropped. But the real worry would be counting day on December 23. “No matter who wins between Tripathi and Chourasia, if the margin is thin, there will be another big tension,” said a resident.

SP Linda said they were keeping close watch on the supporters of both camps, “The Quick Response Team has been kept on alert to rush wherever required,” he said.