INDIA: Dalits allegedly beaten up by upper caste and police refuse to register a case

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner in Uttar Pradesh, the PVCHR, regarding the alleged attack on the Dalit community by the upper caste of the village in Dasanipur on 27 March 2007. According to the information received, the incident was triggered off by a brawl between the children of the Dalit and the Patel community of the village. The incident soon escalated into a stage where the Patels attacked the Dalit houses. It is alleged that the injured Dalits tried to lodge a complaint at the Cholapur police station. However, instead of registering the complaint the police allegedly teased the Dalits and later beat them and also registered a false case against them.

CASE DETAILS:

On 27 March 2007 at about 5 pm the Dalit and Patel children organised a dance party in Dasanipur village within the jurisdiction of Phoolpur police station, in Harahua block, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh state, India. Raju, Veeru and Chhannu, children from the Dalit community were expected to participate in the function. However during the function, the Dalit children were not allowed to participate and they were verbally insulted in the public by the children from the Patel community. At this juncture Veeru requested the children from the Patel community not to insult them and that they do not care if they were not allowed to participate. However, the children from the Patel community allegedly continued with their insult and later assaulted Veeru. Raju and Chhannu ran away from the scene. Raju and Chhannu informed Veeru’s parents that Veeru was being assaulted by the children from the Patel community. Veeru’s mother rushed to the scene and tried to reason with the Patel community. However, she was insulted in public and was chased away from the scene along with Veeru.

The next day, the girls from the Dalit community on their way home were teased by the members of the Patel community. They went back home and complained to their parents. Following this incident the members of the Dalit community tried to reason with the members of the Patel community and requested them not to tease their women. This did not however workout and soon a quarrel erupted between the members of the two communities.

Soon after this, on the same day, the members of the Patel community went to the house of Shankar, a Dalit, and beat him up along with his daughter Roma and Rupa. The girls rushed into the house while Shankar was beaten up outside the house. Seeing that Roma and Rupa had escaped into the protection of the house, the members of the Patel community tried to break into the house by forcing open the windows and doors. When they failed, they threw stones and bricks at the house, of which some stones and bricks landed inside the house destroying household utensils. The house was completely damaged.

Meanwhile few other members of the Dalit community tried to intervene. But they were unsuccessful and eight of them were injured from the assault by the members of the Patel community of which three men and two girls were injured seriously. They were later admitted to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, Varanasi for treatment.

At the hospital they did not get good treatment. The nurses and the doctors allegedly refused to give proper treatment to the injured on the ground that they were members of the Dalit community. Aggrieved by this, the injured lodged a complaint with the Chief Medical Officer, Varanasi against the discrimination they faced at the hospital. They also went to the Bhusaula police outpost and informed the officers about the entire incident that happened starting from 27 March 2007. The police officers on the same day came to the village and talked with the Patel community but refused to talk or record a statement of the injured Dalits.

The same day evening on March 28, the Station Officer from the Cholapur police station came to the Dalits’ house at about 9pm. The Dalit community showed the officer the house that was under attack and also the stones and bricks pelted at the house and the damage it has caused to the house. The officer however, did not record any statement, but allegedly shouted at the Dalits saying that they were making up a case against the Patels. At that time Mr. Paras and Mr. Ram Shakal, two Dalits, came to the scene. They are cart pullers and they were not present when the incidents happened. But the police officer allegedly took them to the police station along with two members of the Patel community.

The next day morning, the officer allegedly started assaulting Paras and Ram and they were both charge sheeted along with 10 other members of the Dalit community under Sections 107 , 116 of the Indian Penal Code and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They were however released on bail by the officer on the same day.

On 31 March 2007 a complaint was filed by the injured and the representatives of the Dalit community at the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police. However no action was taken by the SSP. In the meantime, the rest of the accused who were charge sheeted were also offered bail by the police.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Patel community in Uttar Pradesh belongs to the ‘backward community’ in the caste ridden Hindu society of India. However, they are not Dalits (untouchables). Since the implementation of the reservation policy of the government, intended to bring the lower caste to the main stream, it was communities like that of the Patels who have benefited from it. The backward communities like the Patels, though were not considered as Dalits also had faced social ostracism in the past from the upper caste Hindus. However, taking benefit from the reservation policy, the Patel community has acquired power and authority in the society in Uttar Pradesh. They could not however use this authority against the upper caste. But they use it against the Dalit community who are considered to be lower to the Patels in the caste system.

Exploiting the new found authority and power, the Patels have encroached into the lands of the Dalits and now the Patels are considered to be the neo-feudal in Uttar Pradesh. They use every possible avenue to establish their domain over the Dalits, including forcing the Dalits to work for them and resulting in the Dalits to be forced to appalling living conditions.

Any assault or insult in public of a member of the Dalit community is an offense punishable under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. In case of an offense punishable under this Act is reported to any police station, the officer receiving the information must immediately inform the Deputy Superintendent of Police or other superior officer higher to the rank of the Deputy Superintendent of Police for investigating the case. This is because no police officer below the rank of the Deputy Superintendent of Police is authorised to investigate a case coming under the purview of this Act.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the relevant authorities listed below calling for an immediate investigation into the alleged case of assault upon the members of the Dalit community in Dasanipur village. An inquiry must also be ordered into the alleged act of assault of Ram and Paras at the Cholapur police station and also the refusal by the doctors and nurses at the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital to give adequate treatment to the injured Dalits.

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