Almost a month after the caste-based murder of a 23-year-old Dalit man in a village in Karnataka’s Koppal district, a group of lawyers and activists have highlighted the inaction and non-compliance of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Danappa, a man of the Madiga community, was murdered on June 22 by persons belonging to the dominant Kuruba caste in Baraguru village, allegedly over his relationship with Sunita from the Kuruba community. Police registered a first information report (FIR) against seven persons and arrested four persons, including both parents of Sunita. However, according to the activists, the Deputy Commissioner has not visited the victim’s family yet.
Members of the Savitri Bai Phule-Dr BR Ambedkar-Bhagat Singh (SAB) Vedike — Sannahanumathappa Hulihyder, Nagaraj Pujar, Parasuram Guruvappa, Buddappa Hanumamma, Maitreyi Krishnan and Clifton D’Rozario — have authored a report on the events leading up to the murder and its aftermath. The report also details the prevalent caste-based division in the village, independent of the murder. Based on their observations and conversations with the victim’s family, the activists have made a five-point recommendation, including a court-monitored probe in the case.
The report noted that only the Tahasildar and Social Welfare Officer have visited the house of the victim’s family, with the Social Welfare Officer informing them of their entitlements under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. No elected representative from the gram or Zilla panchayat also visited the family yet, the activists alleged. “Even the local Member of Legislative Assembly, Basavaraj Dhadesugur (belonging to the Madiga community), or Karadi Sanganna, the Member of Parliament (belonging to the Panchamashali Lingayat community), both from the BJP, have not visited the family,” the report noted.
The SC/ST Act mandates the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police to visit the place or area where the atrocity has been committed to assess the loss of life and damage to the property and draw a list of victims, their family members and dependents entitled for relief. However, the activists, in their report, noted that the procedure was not followed in this incident. Further, the mandated protection to witnesses and other witnesses in this incident has also not been given.
“The defanging of this law has been systematic. Despite the specific mandate of the law for the state government to prepare a model contingency plan for implementing the provisions of the Act, wherein the role and responsibility of various departments and their officers at different levels, the role and responsibility of rural/urban local bodies and non-government organisations (NOs) would be specified, the contours of the relief package for the victims would be laid out, is not yet known to the public (sic),” the report noted.
The report also highlighted that like other forms of discrimination, the Dalit men of the Baraguru village in Koppal district are not allowed to use the neighbourhood hairdressing salon of the village. Members of the SC community can only offer prayers standing outside the temple and are not allowed to eat in the village eatery located in the common area, the report noted.
It also noted that this incident is no outlier because in Karnataka, even though it continues to report caste-based atrocities, there has been no corrective action taken by governments. Quoting the Karnataka State Annual Monitoring Report on the Implementation of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the activists pointed out that one incident of murder or attempt-to-murder is committed against Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes persons once in three days in the state and an SC or ST woman is raped every two days. In the 2017 National Crime Records Bureau report, the state reported the highest number of SC/ST Act cases, while in 2014, the state had a 0% conviction rate in these cases, the activists pointed out.
Recommendations
> There must be a court-monitored investigation into the murder of Danappa and all the accused must be immediately arrested.
> All the officials concerned must immediately visit Baragur village and meet with the family members and perform all the mandatory duties prescribed under the SC/ST Act and Rules.
> The District Administration must order intensive police patrolling in the village, take effective and necessary steps to provide protection to the witnesses and other sympathisers of the victims and provide relief and rehabilitation to the victims.
> The family must be provided notice of any court proceeding, including any bail proceeding to the victims. The state must also ensure that the family has access to legal aid.
> All steps must be taken to ensure the economic and social rehabilitation of the family.