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Dalit Status ( A frontline review)

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Assembly principal secy booked under SC/ST Act

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Assembly_principal_secy_booked_under_SCST_Act/rssarticleshow/3308437.cms

Assembly principal secy booked under SC/ST Act
31 Jul 2008, 0537 hrs IST,TNN

LUCKNOW: In an unprecedented move, principal secretary of the UP
Vidhan Sabha Rajendra Prasad Pandey was on Wednesday forced to quit
his office in an unceremonious manner after being booked under the
SC/ST Act for harassing one of his subordinates, who later committed
suicide by consuming poison.

This is the first case of its nature, and is likely to have widespread
ramifications. In this backdrop, the case has assumed a political
overtone. Much because it is viewed as an assertion of the
government's dalit agenda, especially at a time when chief minister
Mayawati has geared up to go in for a show of strength by organising a
massive rally here on August 9 in retaliation to the Congress-led
coalition government at the Centre.

Meanwhile, a gloom descended over the Secretariat on Wednesday after
this development, as it sets to increase the caste divide within the
Secretariat employees and grips them with a sense of insecurity. The
future outcome would depend much on the manner in which the case is
handled and the justice is dispensed.

It may be recalled that Pandey, who retired in 2007, was currently on
a one-year extension till November 30, 2008.

Dalit beaten to death in MP

[The Times Of India]

20 Jul 2008, 0345 hrs IST,TNN

BHOPAL: A Dalit's refusal to work the in the field of an upper caste
man cost him his life in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. So far, two
people have been arrested in the case.



Police said 55-year-old Bhuraji, a farm labourer working in the field
of Madan Singh at Baratha village, went home for lunch and did not
return to work on Friday afternoon.



Around 2pm, when Madan went to his house and demanded an explanation,
Bhuraji told him that he was done with the day's work and refused to
go back to the fields. This angered the landowner who had agreed to
pay him Rs 100 a day for working from 8am to 7pm.



Madan then called his castemen. Soon about 50 men armed with rifles
surrounded Bhuraji's house. They tried to force Bhuraji to get back to
work but he refused. At this, they beat him till he collapsed and
died.



Bhuraji's brother Ramesh alleged: "We get beaten by upper caste men at
least once in a week. They force us to work for them. And they fix the
wages. We cannot even bargain for our labour. Fifty men surrounded my
brother and beat him to death.

Village tense after Dalit's murder

(Times of India)

PATNA: Tension is palpable in Adilpur village under Neora panchayat in Patna district, about 20 km away from the state capital, following the murder of a Dalit, Devanand Manjhi, 35, an agricultural labourer, allegedly by a few prosperous farmers of the adjoining Kusari village.

Manjhi's body was found lying abandoned in an open field at Kusari in Bihta area on Friday morning.

According to the victim's wife Sugiya Devi, Bablu Singh of Kusari visited her house on Friday morning and took her husband with him on the pretext of giving him work.

However, she came to know about his murder around 11 am on Friday when some passersby saw the body lying in the field and informed her. She maintained that her husband had no enmity with anyone in the village.

According to social activist Pradeep Priyadarshi, Bablu had a verbal duel with Manjhi about a week ago. Perhaps irked over it, Bablu along with Naresh Singh and Ram Gopal Pandit, decided to teach him a lesson by forcing him to drink acid.

Though Manjhi died a miserable death, the body also bore marks of acid burns, particularly his face, said Priyadarshi.
Confirming the incident, Danapur ASP Nishant Kumar Tiwary said three persons Bablu, Naresh and Gopal were named as the main accused in the case.

They are absconding. He said the district administration had taken a decision to set up a police post at Neora. The post-mortem report confirmed that Manjhi died due to acid burns.

According to shocked villagers, this was the second incident in which killers used acid to kill a Dalit. Earlier, about two years ago a Dalit woman, Daulati Devi, of the same village was raped and killed under mysterious circumstances at Kusari. However, neither any FIR was lodged nor any action taken in the case, they said.

Patna DM J K Sinha, Patna SSP Amit Kumar and Danapur SDO Sunil Kumar visited the village on Saturday and handed over a cheque of Rs 1.45 lakh to Sugiya Devi, wife of the deceased, as compensation.

The district administration had given Rs 5,000 on Friday to the victim's family for Manjhi's cremation. Manjhi is survived by his wife and two minor sons Dharmendra, 8, and Pappu, 5.

Meanwhile, fear-stricken Dalits of the village could not go to work on Saturday. They have demanded adequate security and rehabilitation under Indira Awas Yojana. About 85 Manjhi families reside in the village.

Dalit couple brutally thrashed

(Hindu)

http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Hindu/400x60/0

Special Correspondent

Dalit activists hounded out by higher caste men

Police have not registered any FIR yet

JAIPUR: A Dalit couple objecting to the shifting of sand from their field to a road being constructed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) barely 40 km from the Rajasthan Capital were brutally thrashed by villagers belonging to dominant castes over the weekend. The terrified couple are spending sleepless nights after being threatened with dire consequences.

Dalit activists who went to Padasoli village to investigate the case were also allegedly threatened and their digital camera was snatched and damaged. Higher caste men hounded them out of the village and they could escape unscathed only with the help of the Deputy Sarpanch.

Despite the fact-finding team of the Jaipur-based Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) reporting the matter to the police on Thursday evening, no first information report has been registered so far. Dalit victim Nathulal Bairwa and his kin are reportedly spending nights outside their house for fear of another attack by the villagers.

Nathulal Bairwa had approached the CDR seeking its help for getting an alleged encroachment on his land rem-oved and complained of removal of sand from the bou- ndary wall of his field as well as a Dalits’ crematorium for being used in the construction of a road under NREGS.

When a four-member CDR team arrived at Padasoli village in Bassi tehsil and met Nathulal and his wife in their field, a mob comprising about 50 miscreants stormed the field, caught hold of the Dalit couple and assaulted them in the presence of the activists.

Gopal Ram Verma, one of the members of the CDR team, said the miscreants belonging to the dominant Rajput, Gujjar and Meena castes used abusive language for Dalit activists while asking them to “run away” from the place. “They snatched and damaged our digital camera and threatened to torch our jeep,” he added. When the CDR team tried to reason with the assailants, some of them threatened the activists with spears. Deputy Sarpanch Rameshwar Meena, sensing danger to the lives of the activists, brought them out of the village.

After the narrow escape of the activists, CDR Director Satish Kumar reported the matter at the Bassi police station. A police team visited the village late on Thursday night but did not take any action to give protection to the Dalit family or identify the miscreants.

Nathulal and his wife, facing threats to their lives, also approached the police separately and sought protection along with the registration of a case under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. However, the police have not registered any FIR so far.

Suspended SHO among 15 booked for rape

(Indian Express) http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Suspended-SHO-among-15-booked-for-rape/341537/

C B SINGH

Posted online: Tuesday , July 29, 2008 at 11:42:40
Updated: Tuesday , July 29, 2008 at 11:42:40
Bhiwani, July 28 The District Police has finally registered a case of rape against 15 persons, including suspended Station House Officer Virender Singh, on a written affidavit filed by a widow working as a safai karamchari.

The complainant had alleged that she was sexually assaulted by 15 person including the suspended SHO Virender Singh on a promise of getting her regularised.

The Indian Express had carried a report on July 25 in which DC T.L.Satya Prakash had promised action against the guilty person. A case under Sections 376, 452, 342 and SC/ ST Act has been registered at Badra Police Station against all person who have been named in the affidavit, including SHO Virender Singh, confirmed Deputy Superintendent of Police Dadari Ram Krishan Daggar.

The 33-year-old rape victim had made a written complaint to the Deputy Commissioner T.L.Satya Prakash who had directed Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjay Kumar to enquire into the allegation.

Subsequently, DSP Loharu, Ravinder Bhardwaj, was asked to complete the inquiry. Daggar said the rape victim’s statement has already been recorded before the Magistrate and other formalities are in progress. He said the case has been registered on the basis of the preliminary investigation.

Teachers sexually harassing dalit student

(Asian Human Rights Commission) http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2798/

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-063-2008

31 March 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIA: Teachers accused of sexually harassing female students in Gujarat

ISSUES: Violence against women; rape; caste based discrimination; gender equality; right to life and liberty
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan, an NGO working for the rights of Dalits in Gujarat, about the case of sexual harassment of a Dalit female student and 58 other female students of the Primary Teacher's Training (PTC) College--an all-women's college in Patan, Gujarat. For many years, the college had an all male staff, including the college Principal. The Dalit victim comes from an economically poor background; her father earns his living as an agricultural labourer. Despite clear guidelines from the Supreme Court to address sexual harassment at the workplace, there is no grievance redressal mechanism in place at the college.

CASE DETAILS:

A female Dalit student (name withheld) of the Primary Teacher's Training (PTC) College in Patan, Gujarat was repeatedly gang-raped and sexually assaulted over a period of four months, from 11 September 2007 to 25 January 2008, by six male teachers of the college. Soon after the victim courageously spoke out against the sexual abuse, 58 other students also complained of sexual harassment by the six male teachers over the past years.

A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on 4 February 2008 at the Patan Police Station, and the perpetrators were remanded to judicial custody the same day. However, once the victim lodged her complaint against the perpetrators, she faced a new battle with the justice and healthcare systems of Gujarat. Both failed to provide support to the victim in many instances.

The police registered the victim's complaint with incorrect facts, failing to consider the traumatised state in which the victim was relaying information. The police also failed to recognise and record the gravity of the crimes committed by the public servants and framed minimal charges against them. Furthermore, the Chief Minister ordered the District Magistrate to conduct an inquiry wherein the Magistrate interrogated the victims and their parents for hours with questions, many of which they had already been asked under the police investigation. When the head of the parent's association of the Patan P.T.C. College, Mr. Gemar Choudhary, challenged the District Magistrate's onerous method of interrogation, he was threatened by both the District Magistrate and State Home Minister.

The Government of Gujarat is also delaying the investigation of the case. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 requires that the investigation of an atrocity be completed within 30 days of filing the complaint. However, 52 days passed before the state appointed the CID, a state investigation agency, to investigate the case. The delay in investigation will adversely affect the case and has increased the probability that the perpetrators will be released on bail.

Additionally, according to Section 3 (1) xi of the Act "Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe:- … (xi) assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with the intent to dishonor or outrage her modesty;
(xii) being in a position to dominate the will of a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed; … shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine."

According to Rule 7(1) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995 the investigation of offence committed under the SC/ST Act cannot be investigated by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy. SP). However, this case was initially investigated by a senior officer, the District Superintendent of Police (SP) in Patan. Mr. Raghvendra Vats, the SP who did a commendable job of immediately arresting the six perpetrators, has been transferred from his post.

At the Meghani Nagar Civil Hospital where the victim was admitted, she was made to wait outside for three hours despite her traumatised state. There was no available female doctor, so a male gynecologist examined the victim despite the fact that after suffering such severe sexual abuses, the mere touch of a man made her scream. Overall, the victim has not been given either proper medical treatment or trauma counseling to alleviate her suffering.

The Government of Gujarat awarded the victim 1,00,000 INR (USD 2500) as an interim compensatory relief. The National Commission for Women considers this insufficient compensation.

Despite some superficial changes of staff, the conditions for the students of PTC College, Patan have not improved. The new female principal, Ms. Jamna Patel, accused the girls of creating a nuisance by voicing their complaints. She lectured the students, claiming that it was their bad behaviour that enticed the male teachers to sexually abuse them. Jamna Patel is the wife of the Director of the District Education Department for primary education in Patan. The college has been temporarily closed since 4 February 2008.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

A majority of the sexually abused students of the PTC College, Patan hail from economically poor families and belong to low caste communities. Professional training would give them better chances for employment as school teachers. The local publicity of this atrocity has increased the fear of many parents from economically and socially backward communities to allow their daughters to pursue higher education which is compatible to the lifestyle and ethos of the economically poor and socially backward communities of Gujarat. It is estimated that many similar stories go unreported, and therefore unchecked, because they could adversely affect the prospects of a bright future for lower-middle class and poor women.

The PTC College is a government-run all women's college. The entire teaching staff, including the principal, was male. Despite Supreme Court guidelines to protect sexual harassment of women at the workplace and other institutions, no complaint mechanism was put in place in the college. In 1997, one female teacher was appointed to teach at the PTC College. When this teacher learned of the sexually abusive behaviour of male staff towards the students, she complained to the principal. However, instead of resulting in an investigation of the matter, the female teacher was transferred to another school.

The male teachers threatened to give low marks in the internal examination to those who complained against their misconduct. The internal marking system which is an important component of the examination and evaluation system in teachers' training colleges has essentially served as a weapon in the hands of perpetrators of such heinous crimes against female students. The teachers at the PTC College, Patan succeeded in suppressing their victims' complaints using such threats since low marks have the potential of ruining a student's future prospects of an independent livelihood. These threats from teachers who are expected to be educators, mentors and moral guides further deterred the students from lodging any complaints; as a result, they silently suffered the abuse.

Two years ago, the Gujarat Council for Educational Research and Training recommended to the state department that it reduce the weight given to internal marks in the evaluation system. However, no changes were effected in response to this recommendation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

There is no policy in place in Gujarat ensuring female staff in colleges, even in all women's colleges. Furthermore, there are generally no grievance redressal mechanisms for victims of sexual harassment, abuse and rape. Where such mechanisms do exist, the government has made very little effort to disseminate relevant information to staff and students. This violates the orders handed down by the Supreme Court of India in Vishaka & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (All India Reporter 1997 SC 3011) which states,

"It shall be the duty of the employer or other responsible persons in work places or other institutions to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment and to provide the procedures for the resolution, settlement or prosecution of acts of sexual harassment by taking all steps required."

Known as the Vishaka Judgment Guidelines, the Supreme Court developed specific guidelines for preventing and redressing cases of sexual harassment.

The victim is a Dalit and four of the six perpetrators of the crime belong to a higher caste. The state of Gujarat is ranked 3rd in the nation in terms of the number of atrocities committed against Dalits, despite being ranked 14th in terms of the number of Dalit residents.

For further information regarding this case please contact Ms. Manjula Pradeep, Navsarjan, 2, Ruchit Apartments, Behind Dharnidhar Derasar, Opposite Gurushikhar Society, Vasna, Ahmedabad-380007, Gujarat, India. Ms. Manjula Pradeep could be contacted at +912717-324323/325937. Her email ID is manjula.hp@gmail.com and cdhr.navsarjan@gmail.com

__________________________

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities mentioned below expressing your concern in the case. Please urge the relevant authorities to prevent the recurrence of such heinous crimes against women.

The AHRC has also written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women calling for an intervention in this case to protect the integrity of the Patan rape victim. The AHRC further urges the Special Rapporteur to appeal to the government to ensure that the victim receives appropriate and gender-sensitive physical and psychological protection, treatment and justice according to the rule of law. The AHRC additionally urges the Special Rapporteur to send an appeal to the Government of Gujarat to implement necessary measures to protect girls and women studying in Gujarat from such atrocities.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

INDIA: Please protect the integrity of the Patan rape victim and punish the perpetrators

Name of victim: A Dalit female student (name withheld) and 58 other women students of the PTC College, Patan, Gujarat
Name of perpetrators:
1. Atul Patel
2. Kiran Patel
3. Manish Parmar
4. Mahendra Prajapati
5. Ashwin Parmar
6. Suresh Patel
(All the above persons are currently kept under judicial remand)
Date of incident: 11 September 2007 to 25 January 2008
Place of incident: at the Primary Teacher's Training College, Patan, Gujarat

I am writing to express my concern about the repeated sexual abuse and harassment of female students of the Primary Teachers' Training Centre, Patan district, Gujarat.

A female Dalit student (name withheld) of the Primary Teacher's Training (PTC) College in Patan, Gujarat was repeatedly gang-raped and sexually assaulted over a period of four months, from 11 September 2007 to 25 January 2008, by six male teachers of the college. Soon after the victim courageously spoke out against the sexual abuse, 58 other students also complained of sexual harassment by the six male teachers over the past decade.

The male teachers threatened to give low marks in the internal examination to those who complained against their misconduct. The internal marking system which is an important component of the examination and evaluation system in teachers' training colleges has essentially served as a weapon in the hands of perpetrators of such heinous crimes against female students. The teachers at the PTC College, Patan succeeded in suppressing their victims' complaints using such threats since low marks have the potential of ruining a student's future prospects of an independent livelihood. These threats from teachers who are expected to be educators, mentors and moral guides further deterred the students from lodging any complaints; as a result, they silently suffered the abuse. Two years ago, the Gujarat Council for Educational Research and Training recommended to the state department that it reduce the weight given to internal marks in the evaluation system. However, no changes were effected in response to this recommendation.

Since the victim lodged her complaint against the perpetrators, she faced a new battle with the justice and healthcare systems of Gujarat. The police registered the victim's complaint with incorrect facts and framed minimal charges against the perpetrators.

Furthermore, the Chief Minister ordered the District Magistrate to conduct an inquiry wherein the Magistrate interrogated the victims and their parents for hours with questions many of which they had already been asked under the police investigation. The District Magistrate is not conferred this power. Hence, the Government of Gujarat is delaying the investigation of the case. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 requires that the investigation of an atrocity be completed within 30 days of filing the complaint. However, 52 days passed before the state appointed the CID, a state investigation agency, to investigate the case. The delay in investigation will adversely affect the case and has increased the probability that the perpetrators will be released on bail.

At the Meghani Nagar Civil Hospital where the victim was admitted, there was no available female doctor, so a male gynecologist examined the victim despite the fact that after suffering such severe sexual abuses, the mere touch of a man made her scream. Overall, the victim has not been given either proper medical treatment or trauma counseling to alleviate her suffering.

The Government of Gujarat awarded the victim 1,00,000 INR (USD 2.500) as immediate compensatory relief. The National Commission for Women considers this insufficient compensation.

Despite some superficial changes of staff, the conditions for the students of PTC College, Patan have not improved. The new female principal, Jamna Patel, accused the girls of creating a nuisance by voicing their complaints. She lectured the students, claiming that it was their bad behaviour that enticed the male teachers to sexual abuse them. Jamna Patel is the wife of the Director of the District Education Department for primary education in Patan. The college has been closed down since 4 February 2008.

There is currently no policy in place in Gujarat ensuring female staff in colleges, even in all women's colleges. Furthermore, there are generally no grievance redressal mechanisms for victims of sexual harassment, abuse and rape. Where such mechanisms do exist, the government has made very little effort to disseminate relevant information to staff and students. This violates the Vishaka Judgment Guidelines, handed down by the Supreme Court requiring proper redressal mechanisms for cases of sexual harassment.

I therefore urge that:

1. The Government of Gujarat must ensure that the victim receives appropriate and gender-sensitive physical and psychological treatment;

2. The complete statement of the victim must be recorded by a responsible police officer and the case investigation of the case completed without any further delay and the perpetrators brought to trial;

3. The Government of Gujarat must provide immediate protection for the victim in this case, and;

4. The Government of Gujarat must implement all necessary measures to meet the requirements prescribed by the Supreme Court of India concerning the safety of women at work places and other institutions.

Yours sincerely,

----------------

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Secretary of Department of Social Justice and Empowerment
Government of Gujarat
Block No.5, 8th Floor
Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar
Gujarat
INDIA

2. Directorate of Scheduled Caste Welfare
Secretary of Department of Social Justice and Empowerment
Government of Gujarat
Block No.5, 8th Floor
Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar
Gujarat
INDIA

3. Director General of Police
Police Bhawan Sector – 18
Gandhinagar
Gujarat 382 009
INDIA
Fax: + 91 177 23253918

4. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment
Government of India
Shastri Bhawan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road
New Delhi - 110 001
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 23384918
E-mail: min-sje@sb.nic.in

5. Minister of Home Affairs
Government of India
North Block, Central Secretariat
New Delhi - 110 001
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 23093750, 23092763

6. Minister of Women & Child Development
Government of India
Shastri Bhavan
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 23074054
E-mail: min-wcd@nic.in

7. Minister of Human Resource Development
Department of Higher Education
Government of India
Shastri Bhawan
New Delhi -110001
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 23381355, 23382947
Email: hrm@nic.in

8. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 2338 6521
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

9. National Commission for Women
4, Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Marg
New Delhi-110 002
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 2323 6154
E-mail: ncw@nic.in

10. Chairperson
National Commission for Scheduled Castes
5th Floor
Lok Nayak Bhawan
Khan Market
New Delhi 110 003
INDIA
E-mail: jointsecretary-ncsc@nic.in or chairman-ncsc@nic.in
Fax + 91 11 2463 2298

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)