DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2009 - Indian Social Institute

Noida: An 18-year-old BA first year student in MMH College of Ghaziabad along with two other
associates were arrested as one among the two people involved in the alleged gangrape of a 32-year-old
Dalit woman working at the Heritage Club in Greater Noida on Friday morning. According to the district
police officers, "The three persons who gangraped the woman filmed the act on a mobile phone." The
woman is a resident of Darha village and is married to Lokesh for the past five years. Around 11 am on
Friday, the woman was walking down to her workplace when the bikeborne assailants forced her to
accompany them. The woman was taken to an unknown place and gangraped by the three boys. While
the incident happened in the morning hours, a complaint was lodged late in the evening around 9 pm.
Two of the accused have been identified as Deepak and Guru while the other has not yet been identified
by police. According to the victim, two of her colleagues, Deepak and Guru had convinced her that they
would help get her a job. On Friday, they told her that they have arranged for an interview. Thus she
accompanied them. But the duo took her to an isolated place where one more man joined them and the
three of them raped her. Though a complaint was lodged at the Greater Noida Police Station by Lokesh,
the husband of the victim, police kept mum over the issue before the rape confirmation report comes out.
According to SP (Rural), SK Verma, "We have investigated the scene of crime. It is all a farce. The
woman in her complaint had written that the scene of occurrence was behind a thick bush. But we
recovered keys from the accused which opened to a room in the B block series in Gama Phase 1. Further
investigations clearly indicated that she was not forced." Meanwhile, the parents of the accused who is a
Gujjar alleged that the woman had a deceptive nature and there have been incidents in the past when
she was disloyal to her husband. To this Ashok Kumar Singh, SSP responded, "There have always been
fights between Gujjar and the Dalits. We are still waiting for the rape confirmation report which has been
sent to the district hospital." Though the confirmation reports are awaited, police have detained Deepak,
one of the accused in the case, while two other accused are absconding. The DGP had earlier ordered
the State officials of providing compensation to Dalits for any misbehaviour against them. "After the
confirmation report comes out, only then we will take action. We plan to address the Social Welfare
Department to provide a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the victim, if the accused are found guilty," Verma
said. (Pioneer 28/6/09)
‘Meira made Speaker to keep her away from Dalits’ (2)
Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party believes that the Congress has made Meira Kumar Speaker of the
Lok Sabha just to keep her away from her own people, and also that, in this position she will not be able
to do anything for the welfare of her community. The BSP’s position on Meira Kumar’s elevation to the
Speaker’s office has been spelt out for the first time in a booklet, titled “Dalit ke beti pradhan mantri kyon
nahin ban payee? Zara sochiye!” which Chief Minister Mayawati distributed among party leaders from
various states whom she met on Saturday. The booklet accuses the BJP and the Congress of appointing
Dalits to high offices, like those of President, Vice President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Governor,
only to alienate the people of the Dalit community from the BSP. It describes Dalit leaders, who are given
such positions, as “mostly the selfish kind, who have nothing to do with the welfare of their own
community”. Further, such leaders behave like “bonded labourers” of these parties, says the booklet.
“Meira Kumar has been made Speaker of the Lok Sabha in order to keep her away from her own people.
In our country, the posts of President, Vice President, Governor, and Speaker are such that if the people
of the Dalit community occupy them, they can do no good to the people of their own community.” Alleging
that the Congress has never allowed Dalits and tribals to remain in positions of influence for long, the
booklet says that Sushil Kumar Shinde was removed as Maharashtra Chief Minister after the Assembly
elections and made Governor of Andhra Pradesh. (Indian Express 29/6/09)
Only a Dalit will be my successor: Mayawati (2)
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national general secretary Satish Misra may continue to remain
her confidant, but Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has no intentions of letting him don the mantle
of her successor as she Saturday said only a Dalit will succeed her. Making this clear at a hurriedly
convened meeting of party ministers, MPs, legislators and district coordinators at the BSP's state
headquarters here, Mayawati said: "I am aware that everyone was wondering who I would nominate as
my successor in the event I rode on to become prime minister. I was also told that other than Satish
Misra, the names of Naseem Siddiqui and Swami Prasad Maurya were doing rounds. "But let me clarify
that while I would accomodate these prominent leaders in key positions at the centre, a committed Dalit
alone would be my successor as chief minister here," she said as according to some of those who