DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2009 - Indian Social Institute

the BSP candidate. Referring to the feud in the Saroj family over Amar Singh Saroj’s nomination, the
Chief Minister said she had given the ticket to the candidate at the behest of Indrajit Saroj and
Ranghanath Mishra. Ms. Mayawati added that the deceased MLA’s father, Ram Nihor Rakesh, wanted
the ticket for his son. Amar Singh Saroj is the brother-in-law of Ms. Archana Saroj. The BSP chief made
her displeasure known over the “wrong” pre-election reports given to her by the three , and said she had
been mislead by them. Addressing the convention, the BSP president reminded delegates of the
contribution made by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar who enabled the SCs and STs to avail of the
benefits of reservation in government jobs. She said job quota had been instrumental in improving the
economic status of the SCs and STs. Similarly, she added, it was due to Dr. Ambedkar’s endeavour
which later ensured a job quota for the OBCs. Ms. Mayawati emphasised that the quota benefit was due
to the efforts of Dr. Ambedkar and not of the Congress. She attacked the Chairman of the National
Commission for SCs/STs, Buta Singh, Union Minister of Small Industries, Mahavir Prasad and Union
Energy Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde (all Dalit leaders) for remaining mum on the Bill aimed at denying
reservation in promotion in Central and scientific institutions. Stressing the importance of the Central
Government, Ms. Mayawati said the delegates should focus on the formation of a BSP government and
prevent formation of a Congress government. (The Hindu 3/3/09)
Two Dalits hacked to death in TN (2)
Chennai: Exposing the continuing caste tensions in rural Tamil Nadu, two Dalits were hacked to death
allegedly by an upper caste gang on Friday night. Sources said there were skirmishes between the two
groups in the recent past over entry into a temple belonging to the upper caste, which is believed to have
led to the twin murders at Senthatty village in Tirunelveli. According to the police, K Paramasivam (22)
and Eswaran (60) were returning home from the neighbouring town when they were attacked and killed
by the group. A dispute over offering worship at an upper caste-owned temple is said to be the main
reason for the killings. The sources said there was an altercation between the two groups over harassing
women belonging to the other community, which could be the immediate cause. “After tension over the
temple issue, peace committees were formed and meetings were conducted between the rival
communities to maintain peace. The murders have taken the issue back to square one,” said a police
personnel. According to local sources, the Dalits had confronted the upper castes — a relative term as
the accused belong to the backward and most backward in terms of reservation — over denial of
permission to worship at an Amman temple at Senthatti village. However, the representatives of Konar
community along with other non-Dalits opposed this, which led to disputes between the two groups.
Security has been tightened in the region, as the district police superintendent and other senior officials
have reached the spot to prevent the tension from worsening. Like in the case of ‘untouchability wall’ in
Uthapuram near Madurai, barriers between Dalits and non-Dalits still continue in Tamil Nadu. Critics say
while Dravidian parties were able to shake up the social hierarchy, its reverberations were never taken to
the lowest level. (Indian Express 8/3/09)
Burglary suspect dies in Warje police custody (2)
PUNE: The death of a burglary suspect in the lock-up of the Warje Malwadi police station in the wee
hours of Saturday triggered protests from Dalit organisations, who demanded an investigation into the
matter. The state criminal investigation department (CID), Pune, has taken over the investigation into the
death, following directions from the National Human Rights Commission. The CID has seized the lock-up
register, station diary and case papers from the police station. The post-mortem report has described the
cause of death as traumatic shock and multiple blunt injuries, said Ajay Tawre, in charge, forensic
science department of Sassoon hospital. The viscera has been preserved for further investigation, he
added. The suspect, Amol Raghunath Kuchekar (28) of Surbhi colony in Warje, was allegedly caught redhanded
by people while attempting to commit a theft in Tejowalay society, Warje, late on Friday night.
Deputy commissioner of police Raghunath Khaire (zone I) told TOI that Kuchekar was beaten up by
members of the public before his arrest. "The suspect was taken to his residence for a search. Later,
when he was brought to the police station, he started vomiting. He was immediately taken to the Sassoon
hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival," he said. Some Dalit organisations, however, alleged
that Kuchekar was beaten up by the police. They submitted a memorandum to the district collector’s
office demanding a probe. They also demanded that a case be registered against the policemen
concerned. Sub-inspector Nilkanth Jagtap, who had arrested the suspect, said, "On Friday night, we
received a call from society members that they had locked up a suspect in the flat of one Mandar Pathak