Dalits Media Watch
Tendaukkirappa said: "If we go against the diktat issued by upper-caste people, we may be thrown out of the village. We don't know what to do. We have closed our shops for five days, and plan to stop this occupation and work as coolies."
Bellary district social welfare officer Rajappa N said: "We held a meeting with the barbers and the dalits. We asked the barbers to allow the dalits to enter their shops and get their hair cut. We told them there should not be any discrimination against the dalits once the shops reopen. We will also talk to upper-caste people. We will not coerce the barbers if they continue to keep their shops shut; it's their decision. But the dalits should be served if they reopen the shops."
Despite UP being the most populous state with a population of about 200 million, MP with less than half its population registers more than one and a half times the number of rape cases. Rajasthan with just about a third of UP's population also registers more rape cases than UP.
"The actual incidence of crimes has increased so much in UP that it has created a climate of fear in the society that impels people not to report. There is intense fear of the perpetrators, who are almost always from the same locality. The police often refuse to register an FIR or take any action. So, the perpetrators are roaming freely. The fear of retaliation is real. Hence reporting is always bound to go down when the crime rate increases," explained Dr Pradeep Singh, associate professor of law in Banaras Hindu University.
"Reporting a crime might be affected by the local dominance of a community. In spite of such problems, even in UP, people might be reporting more crimes. But the more important question is whether these crimes are being recorded or not. In the case of UP and Bihar, often the instructions from the top are clear that cases should not be registered to keep the crime figures down. So official crime figures have a lot more to do with what instructions go down to the police stations from the top," explained Prof. Ravi Srivastava of JNU.
According to a study, Mapping Caste-Based Atrocities in India with Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh, by the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) in 2011, in cases of crimes against SCs, the average delay in filing an FIR is about seven days, in arresting culprits about 18 days and in starting investigation about 12 days. "FIR is supposed to be filed promptly within 24 hours. But in UP, the policemen are usually from the same caste as the perpetrators or have upper caste sympathies. Even if an FIR is filed, they don't arrest the culprits for over a fortnight giving them time to intimidate the victim and the Dalit community," said the author of the study, Dr Govinda C Pal.
Interestingly, the IIDS study of a sample of cases of atrocities against SCs found that almost half the victims (46%) were from the upper strata of SCs, followed by almost a quarter from the Chamar caste, who comprise over half of UP's Dalit population. OBCs, including Yadavs, were the perpetrators in 47% of cases, upper castes in 31% and in 6% of the cases studied, both upper castes and OBCs were perpetrators. "This is because the better-off among the SCs would not be willing to take atrocities quietly. They would actually try to get a case registered and retaliate. The poorest and most oppressed among the Dalits might not be targeted much as they would be more willing to accept the hegemony of castes above them and even if atrocities were committed against them, there would be no case registered," explained Dr Pal.
In 1982, states were asked to identify districts prone to atrocities against Dalits so that provisions could be made for more police personnel, support services and so on. In UP, 20 districts were identified. The Prevention of Atrocities Against SC/ST Act 1989 was enacted. "Over two decades after the law and over three decades after identifying the districts, these 20 districts, especially 12 of them, are topping in crimes against SCs in UP. The government ought to be asking why nothing has changed despite special provisions for better policing," said Dr Pal.
News Update 10.06.14
Barbers turn away dalits in Bellary village - The Times Of India
BAMS doctor booked for rape - The Free Press
Dalit activist’s murder: Police reject ‘dying declaration’, villagers say will fight ‘till the end’- The Indian Express
Rate of crime against women low in Uttar Pradesh - The Times Of India
The Times Of India
Barbers turn away dalits in Bellary village
Basavaraj F Kattimani,TNN | Jun 10, 2014, 01.25 AM IST
HUBLI: The dalits of a Karnataka village have been boycotted by the local barbers allegedly under pressure from people of upper-castes.
The dalits of Talur, a small village in Shiraguppa taluk of Bellary district, have been barred from entering barber salons. A scuffle broke out between dalits and barbers when the latter refused to cut their hair. All the five salons in the village are closed for five days.
The social welfare department called a meeting on Sundayto resolve the issue, but the barber shops remained shut on Monday.
Speaking to TOI, dalit leader Uchhappa Chalavadi, an employee of the state government's revenue department, said: "We don't know why people of our community are being denied a haircut. They had been visiting the salons for years. When we raised the issue with the village elders, they said we had to abide by the decision and get our hair cut elsewhere."
Anjaneya Tendaukkirappa, who runs a barber shop in Talur, told TOI: "Upper-caste people have forced us not to extend haircutting and shaving services to the dalits. We have been strictly told not to allow dalits to enter our shops. If we cut the dalits' hair, upper-caste people will stop coming here. There are only 80-100 dalits here, but upper-caste people number more than 3,000. Our business will be affected if upper-caste people stop visiting our shops. Hence, we are not providing any service to dalits."
Four days ago, the barbers refused to cut dalit children's hair, leading to arguments. Nagaraj Chalwadi, a dalit, told TOI: "Teachers don't allow our children in class if their hair is not trimmed. Women are now cutting our children's hair. We elders have to go to Bellary, Gullyam, Chanal Cross and Hudlagi villages for haircut and shave."
Four days ago, the barbers refused to cut dalit children's hair, leading to arguments. Nagaraj Chalwadi, a dalit, told TOI: "Teachers don't allow our children in class if their hair is not trimmed. Women are now cutting our children's hair. We elders have to go to Bellary, Gullyam, Chanal Cross and Hudlagi villages for haircut and shave."
Tendaukkirappa said: "If we go against the diktat issued by upper-caste people, we may be thrown out of the village. We don't know what to do. We have closed our shops for five days, and plan to stop this occupation and work as coolies."
Bellary district social welfare officer Rajappa N said: "We held a meeting with the barbers and the dalits. We asked the barbers to allow the dalits to enter their shops and get their hair cut. We told them there should not be any discrimination against the dalits once the shops reopen. We will also talk to upper-caste people. We will not coerce the barbers if they continue to keep their shops shut; it's their decision. But the dalits should be served if they reopen the shops."
The Free Press
BAMS doctor booked for rape
— By FPJ Bureau, June 10, 2014 12:38 am
Charged with sexually exploiting woman for 8 years
Bhopal: The TT Nagar police have booked a BAMS doctor in connection with sexual exploitation of a 28-year-old woman for the past eight years on the pretext of marriage.When the victim woman came to know that the accused doctor had married another girl, she approached TT Nagar police station and lodged a complaint against him.
Following the complaint, the police registered a case under section 376-2 (D) and SC/ST Act and forwarded the case diary to AJK thana. No arrest had been made till the filing of the report.TI, TT Nagar, Rajkumar Sarraf while talking to ‘Free Press’ said that the victim 28-year-old woman, who resides at Priyadarshini Nagar, in her complaint told the police that she came in contact with the accused doctor Satyendra Ray, a resident of Mahabali Nagar in Kolar, eight years back when he treated her family members.
The woman complained that during the past eight years the accused outraged her modesty several times by taking her to his residence at Mahabali Nagar, promising that she would marry her. However, in March, the accused got married to another woman following which she reached the house of the accused where he thrashed her and threw her out of his house, calling her casteist names.
The Indian Express
Dalit activist’s murder: Police reject ‘dying declaration’, villagers say will fight ‘till the end’
For the past three weeks, policemen have been taking turns to ensure round-the-clock vigil outside the Bahyababa temple, a spot that holds a “crucial link” to the killing of 50-year-old Dalit activist Sanjay Khobragade in Kawalewada village of Gondia. He was set on fire when he was sleeping in his courtyard in a Dalit settlement outside the village limit on the intervening night of May 16 and 17. He subsequently died on May 22.
A staunch follower of Dr B R Ambedkar, Khobragade had been fighting with the village politicos, all belonging to the dominant Powar caste, to get a patch of land from the Bahyababa temple trust to build a Buddha Vihar. With three temples having been built on the government land, Dalits in the locality have been demanding that the Panchayat Samiti make land available for a Buddha Vihar too. Dalits are in minority in the area with just 40 houses as against 1,500 Powar houses.
Six accused — Rushipal Tembhare (45), his wife and village sarpanch Madhuri Tembhare (40), Bhaulal Harinkhede (45), Punaji Thakre (58), Hemant Thakre (30) and Shriprakash Rahangdale (50), a doctor, deputy sarpanch and president of the Bahyababa temple trust — were arrested soon after Khobragade was set on fire. They were, however, released on bail following the arrest of Khobragade’s wife Devakabai (48) and her “paramour” Raju Gadpayle (42), a Dalit rickshaw-puller and neighbour.
The six accused are known in the area for their “strong political connections”. The trust members, after dodging the demand of village Dalits for years, had finally relented to allow a Buddha Vihar to be built next to the Bahyababa temple. The Tembhare couple had asked Khobragade to come after May 16, after the Lok Sabha election results. On the intervening night of May 16 and 17, however, he was doused with kerosene by “unknown persons” and set ablaze. In the five subsequent days that he battled for life, Khobaragade gave three separate statements to the village tehsildar and the police, each time naming the six.
Since he died, law demands that his statements be treated as his “dying declaration”, but the police rejected it, claiming that Khobragade had only expressed “suspicion” about the six accused. Gadpayale was arrested on May 19 and the police claimed that he confessed to hatching a conspiracy with Devakabai to kill Khobragade. “They had an illicit relationship and the deceased had seen them in a compromising position that night. So, both decided to kill him,” said public prosecutor Veena Bajpai.
Both Gadapayle and Devakabai, when produced in court, said they were tortured and made to confess to the crime they had not committed. The police are reluctant in taking the past instances related to the temple land into consideration, alleged Pradeep Khobragade (30), the deceased’s son who is fighting a legal battle. “In 2012, a few days after Ambedkar Jayanti, my father’s shop, which is just outside our house, was burnt down. It was a day after he (Khobragade) got involved in a skirmish with the Tembhares over the Buddha Vihar. In the last three years, my father had filed over six police complaints against the accused for denying us space to build a Vihar,” said Pradeep, who is staying away from the village where he runs a cycle repair shop.
The police are yet to record the family’s statement. Dalit activists and villagers alleged that the police were trying to save the real culprits and had falsely implicated Devakabai. “The police had tried similar tactics after Khairlanji massacre too. They had accused the deceased women of Khairlanji of having illicit relationships,” said lawyer Shailendra Gadpayle, who is handling Khobragade’s case.
Khobragade, in his statement, had claimed that he heard some voices before he was set ablaze and he distinctly recalled that the voices were of the accused. But the investigating officer told the court that “he was drunk and not in a stable state”. “Both have confessed to their crimes. First Gadapayle broke down before the police and…then Devakabai too confessed,” said Bajpai.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Tirora, Dilip Girhe told the court on May 26 that Devakabai and Gadpayle had known each other since childhood and had an affair for the last 30 years. “If one goes by the police’s claim, Gadpayle must have been 11 years old then,” said Pradeep.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Tirora, Dilip Girhe told the court on May 26 that Devakabai and Gadpayle had known each other since childhood and had an affair for the last 30 years. “If one goes by the police’s claim, Gadpayle must have been 11 years old then,” said Pradeep.
Last week, the police allowed the six accused to be let out on a conditional bail of Rs 15,000 each, unopposed. Their lawyers are now appealing to have the bail conditions of not entering the village limits relaxed. The police, too, plan to file an application to discharge them from the case. Opposing Devakabai’s bail, the prosecution had told the court that they feared “communal tension”. Dalit villagers, however, vouched for the Khobragade family. “Like Sanjay, his wife too was actively agitating to get us a Vihar. She does not deserve such treatment,” said Sangeeta Borkar, a villager.
“My mother has lost everything, her husband, her dignity, and now the police are making her out to be an evil person. She is poor, but not weak. She will fight till the end and we will all fight for her,” said Pradeep.
The Times Of India
Rate of crime against women low in Uttar Pradesh
Rema Nagarajan,TNN | Jun 10, 2014, 04.41 AM IST
BJP Mahila Morcha workers protesting against the Badaun rape case in Lucknow. (PTI file photo)
Despite all the noise around the lawlessness of Uttar Pradesh and the insecurity of women in the state, official crime data strangely enough shows that UP, along with Bihar, stands out as a state with an apparently very low rate of crimes against women. Other states surrounding UP — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Delhi — have very high rates of crimes against women, especially rape.
So what's happening here? No one believes the crime data from UP and Bihar since they are notorious for not registering cases, especially cases of crimes against women, in particular dalit women.
Despite UP being the most populous state with a population of about 200 million, MP with less than half its population registers more than one and a half times the number of rape cases. Rajasthan with just about a third of UP's population also registers more rape cases than UP.
"The actual incidence of crimes has increased so much in UP that it has created a climate of fear in the society that impels people not to report. There is intense fear of the perpetrators, who are almost always from the same locality. The police often refuse to register an FIR or take any action. So, the perpetrators are roaming freely. The fear of retaliation is real. Hence reporting is always bound to go down when the crime rate increases," explained Dr Pradeep Singh, associate professor of law in Banaras Hindu University.
"Reporting a crime might be affected by the local dominance of a community. In spite of such problems, even in UP, people might be reporting more crimes. But the more important question is whether these crimes are being recorded or not. In the case of UP and Bihar, often the instructions from the top are clear that cases should not be registered to keep the crime figures down. So official crime figures have a lot more to do with what instructions go down to the police stations from the top," explained Prof. Ravi Srivastava of JNU.
According to a study, Mapping Caste-Based Atrocities in India with Special Reference to Uttar Pradesh, by the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) in 2011, in cases of crimes against SCs, the average delay in filing an FIR is about seven days, in arresting culprits about 18 days and in starting investigation about 12 days. "FIR is supposed to be filed promptly within 24 hours. But in UP, the policemen are usually from the same caste as the perpetrators or have upper caste sympathies. Even if an FIR is filed, they don't arrest the culprits for over a fortnight giving them time to intimidate the victim and the Dalit community," said the author of the study, Dr Govinda C Pal.
Interestingly, the IIDS study of a sample of cases of atrocities against SCs found that almost half the victims (46%) were from the upper strata of SCs, followed by almost a quarter from the Chamar caste, who comprise over half of UP's Dalit population. OBCs, including Yadavs, were the perpetrators in 47% of cases, upper castes in 31% and in 6% of the cases studied, both upper castes and OBCs were perpetrators. "This is because the better-off among the SCs would not be willing to take atrocities quietly. They would actually try to get a case registered and retaliate. The poorest and most oppressed among the Dalits might not be targeted much as they would be more willing to accept the hegemony of castes above them and even if atrocities were committed against them, there would be no case registered," explained Dr Pal.
In 1982, states were asked to identify districts prone to atrocities against Dalits so that provisions could be made for more police personnel, support services and so on. In UP, 20 districts were identified. The Prevention of Atrocities Against SC/ST Act 1989 was enacted. "Over two decades after the law and over three decades after identifying the districts, these 20 districts, especially 12 of them, are topping in crimes against SCs in UP. The government ought to be asking why nothing has changed despite special provisions for better policing," said Dr Pal.
News monitored by Girish Pant-PMARC
ARUN KHOTEPMARC
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