DALITS/SCHEDULED CASTES - 2013 - Indian Social Institute

as all three were well built and strong. We are on search for others,” he said. All five have been chargedunder Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and under sections of the Scheduled Caste and ScheduledTribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Prakash and Ramesh have reportedly accepted their complicity in thecrime in front of the police. Advocate Keval Uke, the general secretary of the National Dalit Movement forJustice, who visited Ahmednagar along with Mr. Thul, told The Hindu that such increasing incidents werea sign of the failure of the constitutional mechanism in the State. “There has to be a comprehensivecompensation package to the families and the case has to be fast tracked, unlike many others in theState,” he said. The victims’ families have demanded death penalty for all the accused and also askedthat Radha’s statement, which they say will prove that it is a case of honour killing, be recorded. Theincreasing number of attacks on Dalits has put the Congress- NCP government in the dock. The leadersof all political parties are allegedly connected to the perpetrators of such attacks and are allegedlyprotecting them. A Congress MLA is a relative of those who attacked Dalits in the Satara district ten daysago. A week ago Hindu right wing organisations beat up a Dalit professor in Dhule district for allegedlyhurting their sentiments. (The Hindu 6/2/13)Expedite trials in cases against Dalits: National Commission tells Maharashtra (2)Mumbai: Pulling up the Maharashtra government for low conviction rate in atrocity cases against Dalits,the National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Tuesday asked the State to expedite trials and probein such cases. “1,200 cases of atrocities against scheduled castes are reported each year inMaharashtra. Out of them, 500 cases are pending. There should be exclusive and fast-track courts underwhich priority should be to atrocity cases,” Commission’s Chairman Dr. P.L. Punia said reporters inMumbai. The Commission today conducted a review of various departments of the State government, onthe works done by them benefiting the people from scheduled castes. “Investigation in atrocities againstDalits should be completed within one month. Trials should also be expedited in these cases,” Mr. Puniasaid. Stating that serious cases of atrocities have come to fore in the State in recent past, he saidMaharashtra’s current conviction rate in atrocity cases is six per cent, while earlier it was three per cent.“In heinous crime cases like rape, murder and arson, the State’s conviction rate is eight per cent,” headded. Speaking on the Sanoi triple murder case, where Dalit youths were hacked to death, Mr. Puniasaid the Commission would closely monitor the case. “If there is thorough investigation we will welcome it.The case should not be kept in cold storage,” he said. Asking Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to holdmeetings of State vigilance committee regularly, he said in the last two years the meeting was notconvened even once. “Meetings are also not taking place of the vigilance committees formed at thedistrict level. Deputy Superintendents of Police of respective districts are not attending the meeting,” headded. (The Hindu 12/2/13)Dalit activist shot dead (2)Dalit rights activist and Bahujan Samaj Party member Chandrakant Jaywant Gaikwad (30) was shot deadby assailants in front of a dhaba in Jamb village of Indapur taluka in Pune district on Tuesday morning. Acase was registered against Satpal Mahadev Rupnavar (22) of Jamb, a "notorious" goon andhistorysheeter, his aide Santosh alias Lubya Chandalkar and three others at the Walchandnagar policestation on the complaint of Dada Shivaji Jadhav (32) of Jamb. Jadhav was with Gaikwad when the latterwas shot. Police suspect the assailants wanted to eliminate Jadhav, with whom Rupnavar had a dispute,but he managed to flee. Inspector Dashrath Patil said Gaikwad, a resident of Jamb, had come toMahalaxmi dhaba to meet Jadhav. Around 10 am, the assailants reached there in a jeep and anargument ensued between Jadhav and Rupnavar. As Jadhav managed to escape, Rupnavar allegedlyfired at Gaikwad from his revolver and fled. The incident has created panic in several parts of Indapur.Nearly 300 policemen have been deployed in Jamb to maintain law and order. Senior police officers,including DySP Manoj Lohiya, visited the crime scene. A hunt is on to nab Rupnavar and his aides.