Caste Discrimination against India's “Untouchables” - Human Rights ...

Bihar and Tamil Nadu conducted by Human Rights Watch also confirmed that women have
been beaten, arrested, and sometimes tortured during violent search and raid operations
on Dalit villages. 71 Medical personnel often collude in these cases by issuing false
certificates that deny sexual assault or by including statements in the medical examination
report that cast doubts on the credibility of the victim’s complaint. 72
The case of Ms. Lebra is illustrative of this widespread problem. Ms. Lebra, a mother of
three, was accused of stealing her upper-caste neighbor’s jewelry in retaliation for refusing
to give him crops from her land. When she was called in by the police for questioning, the
police officer began molesting her daughter. When she tried to stop him, he grabbed Ms.
Lebra’s hair, pushed her down onto the ground and raped her. 73
v. Police Extortion and Looting
The routine practice of police extortion and looting is well documented. 74 Police targeting of
Dalits comes about through:
• Illegal police raids on Dalit villages under the pretext of looking for suspects in the
aftermath of caste conflicts. Human Rights Watch has documented a number of such
instances. 75
• Specific targeting of Dalit villages that enjoyed relative economic prosperity. This
practice has been documented by Human Rights Watch’s investigation of raids
conducted in Gundupatti, Tamil Nadu in February 1998, where the police engaged in
outright looting, stealing jewelry, clothes, cash, and consumables from the homes of
Dalit villagers who enjoyed relative prosperity due to remittances from family
members who were sent to work abroad. 76 The looting served two purposes: to line
71
Human Rights Watch, Broken People, p. 166.
72
NHRC Report, Section VI, p. 120.
73
“Rape of Dalit Woman at Police Station,” Case Papers: Summary Jury’s Interim Observations & Recommendations, National Public
Hearing, April 18-19, 2000, Chennai-Tamil Nadu, Vol. 1, p. 177.
74
Human Rights Watch, Broken People, p. 80. The prevalence of extortion is intimately related to the fact that many police officers need
to pay large bribes to secure their position in the police force. As a result, many police officers begin their careers in severe debt that
they attempt to pay off by extorting money from civilians or by engaging in outright acts of looting. Ibid., pp. 80-81. Moreover, police
officers often accept bribes from upper-caste perpetrators to ignore their crimes against Dalits. NHRC Report, Section VI, p. 119.
75
During a police raid on the village of Makarpur in Jehanabad district, Bihar, in January 1998 the police arrested and illegally detained
seven young men and then extorted a sum of Rs. 5,500 (US$138) before releasing them. Ibid., p. 81. In another incident in Nagwan
village, in Patna district, Bihar, two people were threatened with criminal charges unless they agreed to pay Rs. 900 (US$22.50). Ibid.
76
Ibid., p. 83.
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