Alleging alarming rise in maltreatment and commission of atrocities against SC community in Ramnagar constituency, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and former Minister today sent a memorandum to the Lt. Governor seeking his personal indulgence 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 Ramnagar.
“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 and 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 Singh.
Pointing further towards the alleged molestation of SC girls in Chanunta village by goons owing allegiance to BJP, Mr. Singh regretted that no arrests had been made despite lapse of over a month. He revealed that more than 15 mysterious deaths of dalits had occurred in Ramnagar during the past 3-4 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 but not a single murder case had been traced. He regretted that even the mortal remains of Shiv Raj who was brutally murdered on June 2 had not been traced which too had added to the public fury against the concerned police authorities.