CPIM politburo member Brinda Karat said that about 1.1 lakh cases of atrocities against dalits have been pending in various courts across the country.
Speaking at meeting in Madurai on Saturday to felicitate advocates who
fought in the courts for rights of dalits of Uthapuram village, Karat
said that according to the National Crime Records Bureau some of the
cases have been pending for several years. Reeling out statistics, Karat
said that on an average 32,600 odd cases of atrocities against dalits
are booked across the country which means every day roughly 93 dalits
are affected. "In 2012 alone, more than 45,000 cases of atrocities
against dalits have been booked across the country. However, most of
these cases remain pending without any progress. Only 23 people who were
accused in these cases were convicted in the whole year,'' she said. At
thes national level, only a meagre 3.6% of the cases against dalits see
their logical end and the perpetrators are punished, she said.
She lauded the advocates for their role in Uthapuram incident and said
that without the advocates, the atrocities against dalits of the
Uthapuram could have continued. Karat pointed out that the court
has ordered distribution of relief to affected dalits of Uthapuram, but
the distribution is yet to be completed.
Advocates U Nirmalarani,
R Rajkumar, D JAyakumar, P Selvaraj and P Rajan were felicitated at the
event. Villagers of Uthapuram who were present at the function said
that when they were harassed by the non- dalits of the village, several
advocates they had approached refused to appear for them in the court.
But the five took up the case and won it. They also refused to take
their fee from the villagers in a goodwill gesture.
(Courtesy : Times of India)
