Heinous crimes against Dalits create tension in Rajasthan

Congress government in the State creates institutional mechanism to protect them

The recent spate of heinous crimes, including rape and murder, against Dalits has led to tension in several areas of Rajasthan and left the law–enforcement agencies here baffled. The police investigation in most of the cases has revealed the caste angle, aggravated by the calls from the local dominant people to isolate and target the Dalit communities.

While the Dalit groups here have demanded an action plan to deal with the rising cases of atrocities, the Congress government in the State has sought to create an institutional mechanism to protect Dalits against social injustice and all forms of exploitation. A Bill for establishment of a development fund for the Scheduled Castes was passed by voice vote in the Assembly on Wednesday.

In the latest instance, a 32-year-old Dalit man was allegedly forced to rub his nose on a platform inside a temple in Alwar district when he made some remarks on the film The Kashmir Files, which were termed ‘blasphemous’ by the people belonging to higher castes. Rajesh Meghwal had uploaded a post saying atrocities were committed not just against Kashmiri Pandits but against Dalits and other communities as well.

Mr. Meghwal tendered an apology on social media for his comments, but a group of villagers forcibly took him to a temple earlier this week and compelled him to rub his nose, while threatening to beat him. The police have since arrested seven persons in connection with the incident on the complaint of Mr. Meghwal, who works in a private bank.

A 26–year–old Dalit woman was allegedly gang–raped at gunpoint in front of her children in Dholpur district last week, when she was returning home along with her husband and children from an agricultural field. However, the police have maintained that there was no evidence of rape and have arrested six persons on charges of intimidation and assault to disrobe the woman.

The murder of a Dalit youth, Jitendrapal Meghwal, in Pali on March 15 has been attributed by the police to personal enmity, rather than his Dalit identity, after it created a considerable heat in the region. Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad visited the victim’s village, Barwa, and assured his family of his support in the fight for justice.

The infamous case of alleged rape of a differently abled minor Dalit girl in Alwar town in January has reached a dead end, with the police relying on a medical report which said her injuries were not suggestive of any penetrative assault. The 15–year–old mentally challenged girl was found in a distressed condition on a bridge in Alwar with injuries on her private parts. She later underwent a two–and–a–half–hour surgery in Jaipur.

Incidents of Dalits being insulted at public places and denied equal wages at the workplace and the higher castes not allowing the bodies of Dalits in the cremation grounds for the last rites have been reported with regularity from across the State. In one such case, a group of people thrashed the Dalit owner of a dhaba (eatery) in Alwar district’s Barodameo when he asked for money for the snacks.

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati’s criticism of the Congress government earlier this week and the demand for imposition of President’s rule in the State has also generated a controversy here. Ms. Mayawati alleged that the Rajasthan government had completely failed in protecting Dalits and Adivasis, while citing the “tremendous increase” in the atrocities on the Scheduled Castes.

Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) Director Satish Kumar told The Hindu on Thursday that the State government’s action plan should incorporate the elements of prompt arrest of the accused, speedy investigation and the measures for security, relief and rehabilitation of victims. He said the charge–sheets in the cases of crimes against Dalits should be filed with sufficient evidence and protection extended to the witnesses in these cases.