Shadow Correspondent
Jammu,June, 14
Alleging alarming rise in maltreatment and commission of atrocities against SC Community in Ramnagar and Udhampur constituencies, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman-JKNPP and former Minister today held a protest seeking personal indulgence of Lt. Governor for upholding the ‘right to life and liberty’ guaranteed to them under the constitution. He said that despite unabated assaults, threats and misbehaviour with SC people, especially with females, no cognizance whatsoever was being taken by police officers concerned in view of political influence wielded by the perpetrators of such offences. He alleged that local police had succumbed to the dictates of some corrupt BJP leaders who were posing hindrances in the registration of FIRs against the said notorious characters indulging in atrocities against Dalits in the said areas.
Referring to the ugly episode of atrocities inflicted upon the members of SC community last week in Udhampur, Mr. Singh said that it was only a tip of the ice-berg. Similar assault was committed upon SC girls on a ‘Bowli’ in Chanunta by some lumpen elements owing allegiance to BJP with the police authorities having pushed the matter under carpet.
And despite the molestation of the said SC girls in Chanunta village by patronized goons, Mr. Singh regretted that no action had been taken against criminal despite a lapse of over an year. He revealed that more than 6 mysterious deaths of dalits had occurred in Ramnagar during the past 4-5 years with their siblings alleging their murders but no probes had been held. In at least four cases, the dead bodies of dalits were found hanging on trees or badly mutilated but not a single murder case had been traced.
And only recently the Bolero vehicle of a SC leader was burnt to ashes in Kathil, Ramnager by BJP workers but the culprits allowed to go Scot free by an extremely biased police, rued Mr. Singh.
“The political shelter available to notorious characters had emboldened them to the extent that they were openly indulging in acts of vandalism with untold miseries and atrocities inflicted upon the marginalized sections with none to question them”. He said that he was forced to hold a dharna in view of police inaction and the open space allowed to criminals, vandals by the local police by declining to entertain complaints even under Prevention of Atrocities against SC Act.
Mr. Singh said that not only were the common SC people targeted by some vested political interests but even the duly elected chairpersons of BDC blocks were being humiliated, harassed, abused and assaulted with none to take cognizance. He regretted that despite criminal complaint lodged by five SC chairmen of five different SC reserved blocks of Ramnagar against some vandals owing allegiance to BJP for assaulting them, the police concerned was dilly dallying with no arrests having been made till date. It was strange that BDC chairmen who enjoyed protocol equivalent to that of Deputy Commissioner were not being heard or entertained by the Ramnagar police while allowing full protection and patronage to the alleged criminal elements. If the written complaints of chairpersons were being disregarded, then the plight of an ordinary dalit could be well imagined in Ramnagar, lamented Mr. Singh.
Mentioning some of the cases of mysterious deaths/murders of SC Community members in Ramnagar, Mr. Singh said that dead body of Shankar Dass S/o Balle R/o Bhela found hanging on a tree on 19-12-2015; dead body of Ramesh S/o Mangtu R/o Kela was found near Satsang dham on 01-06-2015; dead body Sudesh Kumar S/o Shiv Darshan R/o Kanah was found hanging on a tree on 16-05-2019; dead body of Ravi S/o Shankar R/o Seunti was found near Bindraban on 25-02-2015; dead body of Som Raj S/o Laju was found in Ramnagar on 13-04-2015; dead body of Dharam Chand R/o Noul was found near Kulwanta on October 2018 with no enquires whatsoever held into the said cases. He cautioned a full scale agitation if the perpetrators of crimes against poor and SC people were not brought to book at the earliest.
