14.08.24.UT NEWS.CHENNAI.600026.
Nanguneri youth who hacked Dalit boy now sexually harasses woman.
The three suspects in an inebriated state were also heading towards Nanguneri on a two-wheeler.
TIRUNELVELI: Three juveniles, including two 17-year-old youths who hacked the Dalit boy Chinnadurai and his sister last year in Nanguneri, have been booked on charges of sexually harassing a woman when he was riding pillion with her husband.
The Moolaikaraipatti police registered a case against the trio who are studying in a college, and apprehended one of the three suspects on Sunday. “A young couple was travelling to Moolaikaraipatti to Nanguneri on a two-wheeler. While the man was riding the vehicle, his wife was riding pillion.
The three suspects in an inebriated state were also heading towards Nanguneri on a two-wheeler. When the trio saw the couple, they started abusing her in a filthy language. They further went close to the couple’s vehicle and touched her in an inappropriate manner and fled from,” according to sources.
SI Sakthi Natarajan registered a case and apprehended one of the suspects and sent him to a government home after producing him before the Juvenile Justice Board.
It may be noted that two of the three suspects had hacked Chinnadurai and his sister with a sickle at his house last year after Chinnadurai complained to the school headmaster about caste discrimination shown by the suspects.
Courtesy: The New Indian Express
SC’s sub-quota order has Tamil Nadu’s Dalit parties divided. The united front of the ’90s is missing
Apex court’s decision to allow SC/ST sub-classification, the row over a BSP leader’s murder & parties’ political alliances have exposed a rift among state’s Ambedkarite parties.
Prabhakar Tamilarasu
Chennai: A murder and the Supreme Court judgment allowing sub-quotas within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have triggered a contest among Tamil Nadu’s two key Ambedkarite parties, which have been active participants in the state’s electoral politics.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) — both founded in the late 1990s to speak for Ambedkarite issues and to counter the two main Dravidian parties of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) — are jostling to project themselves as the party truer to the cause of the Dalits.
While VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan was batting for reservation for the Arunthathiyars within the SC category, arguing that the move would uplift the most underrepresented community, PT founder K. Krishnasamy called it a ploy to divide the Dalits.
Though both the leaders condemned the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party’s Tamil Nadu unit chief K. Armstrong, Thirumavalan stood with the grieving BSP supporters, while Krishnasamy kept away.
This is in stark contrast to the politics of the 1990s, when leaders of Dalit political parties usually spoke in the same tone.
The tussle has exposed the schism among Dalit parties, reigniting an old debate on whether it is possible for these political groups to unite.
Activists and political analysts that ThePrint spoke to said that though it is nearly impossible for these parties to unite under one umbrella, they could align themselves with a common movement subscribing to the Ambedkarite ideology, irrespective of their political alliances.
“It is the need of the hour to have a consolidated parent body for all the Ambedkarite parties to join together and discuss the issues of Dalits in the state,” said Dalit Panthers Iyakkam Document Centre founder Vinoth Malaichamy.
There are more than 10 Ambedkarite parties in Tamil Nadu, of which VCK and PT have been contesting elections actively. While VCK bagged a vote share of about 2.25 percent in the Lok Sabha polls, other parties, including PT, had a vote share of less than 0.5 percen
According to the Tamil Nadu Household Panel Survey (Pre-Baseline Survey 2018-19), SCs constitute 23.7 percent of the population in Tamil Nadu.
However, for leaders of VCK, a DMK ally, the party has no difference in opinion with other Ambedkarite parties and openly accepts criticism by fellow comrades. “But it is imperative to capture the political power for social change, which is not possible independently. So, we have an electoral alliance with the parties that are closer to our ideology,” said Sinthanai Selvan, VCK general secretary and MLA from Kattumanarkoil.
The comradeship between Thirumavalavan and Krishnasamy dates back to the 1990s, when both leaders first began voicing the concerns of Dalit communities. Krishnasamy entered the political fray in 1996 as an independent candidate and went on to form the PT in 1998, while Thirumavalavan formed the VCK in 1999 and began contesting elections.
In Tamil Nadu, the Dalits with 309 sub-castes are primarily divided into 3 main categories — Paraiyars, Devendra Kula Vellalars, and Arunthathiyars. Paraiyars usually rally behind the VCK, and Devendra Kula Vellalars support the PT, besides the two Dravidian parties.
While those pleased with the Supreme Court order, which validated the Tamil Nadu law providing 3 percent reservation to the sub-castes under Arunthathiyars, have congratulated Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and DMK, those objecting to the idea say that it would divide the Dalits and appeal for a larger consolidation of the community in the state.
“The DMK-led state government’s move to give 3 percent reservation to Arunthathiyars in 2008 was to divide and rule the Dalit community. They did not want the 25 percent of Dalits in the state to consolidate under one umbrella,” Krishnasamy told ThePrint.
Back in 2008, following the recommendations of a committee headed by Madras High Court retired judge M.S. Janarthanam, the then DMK-led government had decided to implement the reservation for Arunthathiyars within the SC quota of 18 percent. The Arunthathiyars Reservation Act was implemented in 2009. Meanwhile, VCK’s Thirumavalavan and prominent leaders from the Arunthathiyar community have applauded the judgment.
“Internal reservation within the SCs is a welcome move. We should, however, be cautious. Parties in power in the state and Centre should not use this for political gains,” Thirumavalavan said in a statement. However, the rift within the Ambedkarite parties in Tamil Nadu is not the consequence of the apex court’s judgment alone. The murder of BSP leader Armstrong on 5 July had also sparked a row.
BSP leader’s murder
Armstrong’s murder led to huge uproar among the Dalit leaders. All of them spoke in unison, supporting the BSP, and condemning the murder and the state government. Soon after, Ambedkarite filmmaker Pa Ranjith organised a massive memorial rally, seeking justice for the late BSP leader, under the banner of his venture ‘Neelam Publications’ on 20 July.
A day before the rally, Thirumavalavan took to Facebook urging VCK workers to refrain from participating in the rally, calling it an attempt to slam the VCK and its ally, the DM
In a public meeting after the rally, criticising Dalit leaders allied with Dravidian parties, Ranjith called for all Dalit and Ambedkarite forces to unite, irrespective of the party they belonged to. He also called those “dependent” on Dravidian parties “slaves”.
Though most of his criticism was aimed at the VCK and the DMK, Ranjith also said that he and his fellow Ambedkarites would never be against Thirumavalavan. Addressing the VCK chief, he said, “Anna, we will never be against you. You are our voice.”
In the debate over the rally, PT’s Krishnasamy largely remained silent as he has been in disagreement with both Thirumavalavan and Ranjith lately.
This friction, however, was just the tip of the iceberg.
Political commentator and assistant professor at Bengaluru’s National Law School of India University, Karthikeyan Damodaran, said that the work of Ambedkarite leaders, who are now in alliance with Dravidian parties, could not be weighted so low. “The Dravidian hegemony was in top form when Thirumavalavan and Krishnasamy stepped into politics. They fought fire with fire and their efforts cannot be dismissed,” he said.
With respect to the call for consolidation of Ambedkarites, both Damodaran and Vinoth said that the perception that Dalits must vote only for Dalits is wrong.
Adding that Dravidian discourse speaks about inclusion, Damodaran said, “It has always kept Dalits on the fringes. But, to capture power, consolidation of Dalits would not be the solution, since all parties have a stake in the Dalit vote share. ”Vinoth called for a collective forum of Dalit leaders to consolidate and discuss the issues of the community, even if political decisions were excluded from the forum.
At a meeting with other Dalit parties after the order, Thirumavalavan had said, “There have been misconceptions that the VCK is against the reservation for Arunthathiyars. It is to create a bad reputation for the VCK among the community. The VCK has never been against the reservation of any community.”
On the other hand, the PT, the Republic Party of India and several other Dalit parties have opposed the verdict.
“This is the problem with the VCK and Thirumavalavan. They speak Ambedkarite politics in Delhi and talk Dravidian politics in Tamil Nadu. When all the Ambedkarite parties at the national level are against the internal reservation, VCK alone is supporting it,” said writer and Dalit activist Shalin Maria Lawrence.
Noting that it is understandable that the VCK is in alliance with the DMK, she wondered if the VCK should at least ideologically align with the Ambedkarite movements in the state.
However, Aathi Thamizhar Katchi founder Adhiyaman said that each party should be autonomous, just like Ambedkar wanted. “Even Ambedkar did not want all the Dalits to consolidate. He wanted everybody to contest and capture political power. The Dalit uprising started in the 1990s, but later, the Ambedkarite leaders began showing their allegiance to a particular caste within the Scheduled Castes. That’s when we stepped in, to voice the concerns of the Arunthathiyars in western Tamil Nadu,” he said.
He added that the consolidation would neither democratise the Ambedkarite movements nor address the problems of all the sub-castes. Nevertheless, Nagai Thiruvalluvan, leader of Tamil Puligal party, dominated by the Arunthathiyars, shared that the leaders of all the Ambedkarite parties are well connected and share good friendship. “The difference in opinion between the Ambedkarite parties should not be seen as if they are opposing each other. We share the comradeship, but it is the electoral system that has forced us to be in alliance with the parties that are closer to our ideological views,” he said.
VCK leader Sindhanai Selvan also said that the party has no differences in terms of views with other Ambedkarite parties and movements. Blaming the electoral system for the alliance and the tactics they have adapted, Selvan said, “Sharing political power would solve the problems of the marginalised communities.”
He also recalled how the Liberation Panthers (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal) movement had boycotted the elections for a decade after its formation. “However, it did not have much impact as it did not have the political power.”
Courtesy: The Print
Pune: FTII students’ body unhappy with clean chit to professor in caste-related discrimination complaint, seek fresh inquiry.
The FTII students’ association has demanded a reinvestigation — with more transparency — into a caste-related discrimination complaint filed by a former student. The complainant and the association have alleged discrepancies in the way the complaint was handled, in which the professor was given a clean chit, the association claimed. The institute maintained “appropriate action was taken as per findings”.
Written by Ravina Warkad
A former FTII student, had filed the complaint with the administration on December 13, 2023. The former student, who grew up in a Dalit basti in Chalisgaon, Jalgaon district, said his assignments at the institute would focus on his experiences of growing up in a Dalit household, and his personal experiences in public and educational spaces.
Talking to The Indian Express, he recalled his interactions with the professor. “During admission, orientation and interview, we were given exercises to write and narrate stories. In my stories, caste discrimination was a recurring theme or the main characters of my stories would be of Dalit background. At that time, the professor asked me for the first time why I write only about caste. The question didn’t feel odd at the time, it can come to anyone’s mind who watches my work. I said I grew up in a Dalit family and so I write about my experiences while growing up.”
He alleged the professor kept targeting him for writing stories revolving around caste issues. He alleged that once he was denied location to shoot on the campus for an assignment. He also alleged discrepancies in the way the institute handled his complaint.
Backing him, a recent statement by the students’ association stated, “The institute formed a two-member committee to look into the issue. But the committee was formed arbitrarily. It comprised the SC/ST Liaison Officer from the institute as well as a legal consultant. The complainant had shown his dissatisfaction about the formation of the committee and its functioning way earlier… Though the committee was formulated as a ‘fact-finding committee’, it was revealed that towards the end of the investigation, both members gave separate reports about their conclusions regarding the incident, which were polar opposites. A third ‘anonymous’ member studied the two different reports of both members and gave the professor a clean chit.”
“Throughout all these proceedings, there was little to no transparency. There was no student representative within the committee…,” it further said.
He added that the entire batch had filed a complaint against the professor for mental harassment.
He also pursued the matter with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and said FTII started replying to him once he got in touch with the NCSC. He alleged that he filed an RTI to know more about the ‘anonymous’ third person who presided over the case but has not got any information yet.
FTII Registrar Prateek Jain said, “Yes, we received a complaint from a former student of FTII. Administration took serious note of the same and conducted an inquiry as per established procedure. The inquiry was completed in a completely fair and transparent manner. Action was taken as per the findings of the inquiry, which was also communicated to all concerned.”
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“Since the allegations were sensitive, the committee took some time to conclude the inquiry. The complainant was also made aware about the status. We have a robust system in place for students to register their grievances such as SC/ST/OBC/PwD liaison officers and a students affairs committee…,” he added.
Courtesy: Indian Express
BJP Refuses to Bite Dalit Sub-Classification Bullet But Madigas May Have Reason To Press On
Understanding the socio-political context in which the community exists is crucial for comprehending the demand for sub-categorisation within these groups.
Akshay Joshi
The demand for sub-categorisation among communities listed as Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is rooted in a significant historical context.
The Andhra Pradesh government passed the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act 2000, which granted legal status to sub-categorisation among SCs in Andhra Pradesh (undivided). This Act was later challenged in the Supreme Court (E.V. Chinnaiah Vs State of Andhra Pradesh and others). On November 5, 2004, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled the sub-categorisation of SCs as unconstitutional.
However, on August 1, 2024, a seven-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court overruled the E.V. Chinaiah judgement, upholding the validity of sub-classifications within SC communities.
The Supreme Court judgement is the outcome of a long-term grassroots movement by the Madiga community in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Understanding the socio-political context in which the community exists is crucial in comprehending the demand for sub-categorisation within these groups.
Article 341 of the constitution specifies the list of communities that are listed as ‘Schedule Castes’, which the president notifies. However, the constitution views the SC communities as a homogenous group, as it does not mention sub-classification or sub-categorisation of the list. This ‘homogeneous view’ fails to acknowledge the diversity and hierarchical structure among those listed as SCs, which is based on notions of purity and pollution. This failure to recognise the multiplicity of identities among SC communities is a key factor driving the demand for sub-categorisation.
The demand for sub-categorisation challenges the perception of homogeneity. The case of Karnataka is a compelling example. The Madiga groups argue that access to reservation was not equitably distributed among all the castes within the SC communities. They reject the idea of the SC community being a single entity and identify that the policies rolled out by the government are being grabbed by a few select sub-castes. They claim that the majority of government positions reserved for SCs are occupied by the castes that were already advanced among Dalits. They argue that reservation policy has affected different castes among SCs differently. Sub-categorisation supporters demand the division of the SC reservation according to the castes and their respective population percentages. In a nutshell, being marginalised among the marginalised – Dalit among Dalits – is the focal point for the demand for sub-categorisation.
Othering of Madigas among SC communities
Though the notions of untouchability find roots in the caste system and Brahmanical ideology, it is important to note how these notions function among the SC groups. Due to the assumption of SC communities as a homogenous entity, the presence of untouchability among the SC category has not been examined in detail.
As per the 2011 census, 17.15% of the population in Karnataka falls under the SC list. The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act, 1976, has notified 101 castes in the SC list in the state. The SCs in Karnataka are divided into two major groups: right-hand castes (Edagai) and left-hand castes(Balagai). The Chalavadis or Holeyas fall under the right-hand castes, and Madigas fall under the left-hand castes. Madigas form the largest group among SCs and have approximately 50 sub-castes. Karnath G.K., in his 2004 paper titled, Replication or dissent? Culture and institutions among Untouchable Scheduled Castes in Karnataka’ states:
“The Holeyas and Madigas also refer to themselves as Adi Dravida and Adi Karnataka, respectively, and describe themselves as Harijans or ‘SCs’. However, they are particular in maintaining a distinct and discrete identity of their own, Holeya or Madiga, in terms of their being right or left hand castes respectively. Holeyas claim to be superior to the Madigas, a claim not conceded by the latter.”
He further states:
“The Holeyas claim to be higher for several reasons. They do not eat beef, and particularly not of the dead cow or buffalo. The Madiga thotis perform ritually impure services for the other castes while the Holeyas do not. The Holeyas claim that the Chaluvadi Battalu which is in their possession, is a symbol of their higher status, while the Madigas in turn have a myth explaining how they had lost it to the Holeyas.”
This highlights the ‘superiority’ claim by the Holeyas based on ‘notions of purity’ and the presence of clear rules of endogamy, hierarchy, and inequality, as well as the discrimination faced by the left-hand group, particularly the Madigas, from the right-hand group, like the Holeyas.
In interviews with Madiga leaders, they mention that traditionally, there were separate wells for touchable castes, the right-hand, and left-hand groups. They claim they were never treated as equals by the right-hand group and even stated that the Chalavdis (right-hand group) accept water and food from all communities except the Madigas, Madars, and Dhors.
Historically, Madigas have lived in separate colonies outside villages, with no intermingling between Madigas and right-hand groups. Many leaders have even asserted that among SCs, the Madigas face the highest number of atrocities. These claims cannot be verified as the government does not publish caste-specific data and counts SCs as a single entity. However, it is important to note that the sense of injustice and alienation is particularly strong among the Madigas.
The Madigas are demarcated from the right-hand groups in the SC category on account of their traditional professions, restrictions on inter-caste marriages, eating together, separate dwellings, wells, temples and so on. Discriminatory practices against the Madigas and a strong sense of injustice have led to their ‘othering’ within the SC category.
Rise of Madiga Reservation Horata Samithi
The Madigas are primarily concentrated in Andhra Pradesh but are also present in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS), which initiated the demand for sub-categorisation in Andhra Pradesh, later influenced Karnataka and led to the formation of Madiga Reservation Horata Samithi (MRHS). With the establishment of the MRHS in 1994, the demand for categorisation entered a stage of active political struggle in Karnataka.
With increasing demands and political considerations, the Karnataka government established the Justice A. J. Sadashiva Inquiry Commission with two main responsibilities. First, it was to assess whether there was injustice in the distribution of reservations, and second, if such injustice existed, to recommend measures to address it. The commission found that there was indeed injustice in the distribution of reservations and proposed sub-categorisation as a solution for a more equitable distribution. Consequently, the commission recommended dividing the 15% reservation for SCs into four sub-groups as follows:
However, the recommendations of the Sadashiv Commission were never implemented. The recent Supreme Court judgement might prompt a new wave of grassroots movement for the implementation of this sub-categorisation.
The demand for sub-categorisation, mobilisation surrounding it, and assertion of Madiga identity are responses to the state’s ignorance.
In a complex society, such an oversimplification fails to capture the various subtleties within the social structure. Sub-categorisation of the marginalised communities will help the state in reaching the most marginalised sections. The ignorance of the state in understanding this has led to the invisibility of Madigas.
Madiga leaders understand that sub-categorisation alone will not eliminate the discrimination they face from touchable or right-hand groups, nor will it address the structural hierarchies within the SC communities. However, they believe it will create a more favourable environment for their growth and enable them to assert themselves within the limited spaces available to them.
Akshay Joshi is a public policy practitioner.
Courtesy : The Wire
How Mayawati is trying to win back Dalit, backward caste vote base
The general elections dealt a serious blow to the BSP, with no seats won in Uttar Pradesh and the vote share down to 9.4 per cent from 19.4 per in 2019
Prashant Srivastava
Edited By: Ashish Mukherjee
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati has recently held two media conferences over the Supreme Court verdict favouring sub-classification within Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for extending reservation benefits. Mayawati has not only opposed the decision but also asked political parties to clear their stand on it.
Mayawati has questioned the purported silence of the Congress and other parties on the top court’s judgment, one of the aspects of which is that states evolve a policy for identifying the SC/ST ‘creamy layer’ (loosely meaning the better off among the disadvantaged groups) and excluding them from quota benefits.
The August 1 Supreme Court verdict, delivered by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices B.R. Gavai, Vikram Nath, Bela Trivedi, Manoj Misra, Pankaj Mithal and Satish Chandra Sharma, has led to a debate on the path forward for India’s reservation and affirmative action policy.
Mayawati has welcomed the assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to BJP MPs from SC/ST communities, who voiced opinion against the sub-classification of SCs and STs for giving quota and identification of the ‘creamy layer’. She demanded that a Constitution amendment bill be brought on this.
Mayawati said the assurance by Modi was correct. Till the Supreme Court order is not made ineffective through an amendment in the Constitution, state governments could use it for implementing the ‘creamy layer’ ruling and also sub-classify SCs and STs as per their political strategies, said the BSP chief.
Mayawati’s proactive intervention on the issue indicates efforts to rally her party’s core vote base. The Lok Sabha election results have come as a serious setback for the BSP. The party drew a blank and a huge chunk of its Dalit and most backward caste votes in Uttar Pradesh shifted to the India bloc, led by the Samajwadi Party (SP), in the state.
The BSP’s vote share in Uttar Pradesh has been progressively eroding. In the 2019 general election, it was 19.4 per cent. It dropped to 12.9 per cent in the assembly elections of 2022 and in this Lok Sabha election stood at 9.4 per cent. A new contender for Mayawati’s Bahujan vote in Uttar Pradesh is Chandrashekhar Azad, chief of the Bhim Army and the Aazad Samaj Party Kanshiram. The young leader won the Nagina Lok Sabha seat with a vote share of 51 per cent.
Post-results, Mayawati has initiated a strategy to stop further loss of the BSP support base. According to party functionaries, besides raising the issue of the Supreme Court’s quota judgment, the BSP has also decided to focus on caste equations in party appointments. A change is already being seen as more than half of the responsibilities in some district units in Uttar Pradesh have been reassigned to Dalit and most backward community leaders. The same is set to be effected in other districts and state units too.
Some BSP functionaries draw parallels between the recent organisational changes and the SP’s PDA (Pichda, Dalit and Alpasankhyak) formula. “Mayawati should now work actively to rally Dalits rather than rely on other voter segments,” says Dr Shilp Shikha Singh, political analyst and assistant professor at Lucknow’s Giri Institute of Development Studies. “Quota redistribution within Dalits is an issue that demands political resolution rather than a legal one. The BSP chief is now being seen as a playing her cards correctly.”
NEWS Dalit Women NEWS STATE UTTAR PRADESH
Jaunpur News: Woman dies after eating stale food in Dalit colony, five in critical condition
Rajabazar. A woman died on Sunday night due to food poisoning after eating stale food in Musahar colony of Gajadharpur village of Maharajganj. The condition of five people remains critical. Three children are being treated at CHC Badlapur and two are being treated by the health department team in the village.
Four families of Musahar caste live in separate slums in Gajaharpur village of the area. It is being told that within an hour of eating stale food, Sunita (35) wife of Indrapal (Nanhku Musahar), Parvati (30) wife of Suresh, Pankaj (10) and Indrapal’s daughter Ankita, Roshni and son Ankaj fell ill. On the information of the village’s ASHA Bahu Geeta Devi, the ambulance arrived at night and admitted all the people suffering from vomiting and diarrhea to CHC Badlapur. Where Sunita (35) was declared dead by the doctors. The sick people are being treated at CHC Badlapur.
Courtesy : Hindi News
2 years no auction, land usurped: Patiala dalits
Patiala: The Dalits of this district’s Kansuha village are deprived of their allocated share of common land for farming for the last more than two years, and while they await auction to take that over, the upper caste community is alleged to have grabbed that portion.
The Dalits of Kansuha have now filed a formal complaint with Patiala’s deputy commissioner and panchayat development department. MGNREGA Front president Raj Kumar Kansuha said: “Out of the 11-acre panchayat land at my village, about 3 acres are meant for the Dalit farmers, but for more than two years, and the panchayat has not conducted any auction for it, and now the upper caste people have that land which is our constitutional entitlement. The administration disregards our grievances.”
Samana’s Khudadpur village has a comparable case, where the panchayat has auctioned only a small part of its 28-acre common land, while the rest has gone under alleged encroachment. A villager said on the condition of anonymity that the complaints lodged against the sarpanch had gone unheard. Of the 9.5 acre common land that was auctioned, about 6 acres went to the schedule castes, including dummy bidders, while 3.5 acres remains vacant. The sarpanch is alleged to have grabbed the remaining 15 acres.
Farmers held protest in Rajpura to reclaim 533 acres of unused landFarmers of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Ujara Roku Sangharash Committee staged a protest outside the SDM office in Rajpura, demanding the return of 533 acres of unused land acquired by the Punjab Government in 1994 for a private company. They submitted a memorandum to the SDM, urging immediate de-notification and return of the land to original owners.112410039
Record-breaking wildfires scorch more than 1.4 million acres in Oregon, authorities sayOregon’s wildfires in 2024 burned more acres than any previous year, with 71 large fires scorching over 1.4 million acres. High temperatures and dry conditions fueled the blazes, resulting in evacuation notices and property losses. The Durkee Fire was the largest in Oregon, while California’s Park Fire became the biggest nationally.112427631
Village panchayat clerk held for taking bribeA 56-year-old clerk in Thanjavur was arrested for accepting a 1,250 bribe to issue a tax receipt for house construction. The complainant, Philipraj, reported the corruption to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, leading to the arrest of the clerk. Additionally, authorities confiscated around 50,000 from a document storage room during the raid.112410354
Courtesy : TOI
Uttar Pradesh: Two booked for using caste-related slurs on Dalit woman who went to fetch water from tubewell
The incident took place on August 6, but an FIR was filed only on August 10 after repeated attempts by the victim’s family.
BANDA, Uttar Pradesh — An upper caste farmer and his son have been booked for allegedly assaulting and using caste-related slurs on a Dalit woman who was fetching water from a tubewell in Banda district. The victim, Sita Devi (36), works as an agricultural labourer in the area. The incident took place on August 6 in Sikohula village, but an FIR was filed only on August 10 after repeated attempts by the victim’s family.Playvolume00:00/01:00(TRUVID) INDIA –
Moni Nishad, station house officer of Jaspura police station, confirmed that a case has been registered and investigation is underway. No arrests have been made yet.
The accused have been identified as Rajendra Singh alias Badelala and his son Jitendra Pratap Singh. According to the victim’s husband Puttu Sonkar (43), his wife was working in the fields of the accused’s cousin Chandrashekhar when she went to a nearby tubewell to quench her thirst. “My wife saw a pot near the tubewell and picked it up to fill water. At that moment, Rajendra Singh and his son came there and started abusing her for using the pot. They made casteist remarks, saying, ‘You are from a low caste, don’t drink water from here.’ When she tried to leave, they started slapping her,” Sonkar said. Other women working in the field intervened, preventing the situation from worsening, Sonkar said. An FIR has been registered in the case under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code. The police have also invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused.
Courtesy : Hindi News
Gajendra Singh is posted as the Agriculture Development Officer (Agriculture Protection) in Bulandshahr's Shikarpur block.
Singh has been arrested and police officials said they will seek a s 57-year-old government official has been arrested for raping a six-year-old Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr and then committing bestiality with a goat. The survivor's family said the man used to frequent the village for official work and entered their house when he saw that the girl was playing in the courtyard with the child of a neighbour and no adult was present.
The rape as well as the bestiality was recorded by the neighbour's child, who is about the same age as the girl. Officials said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken note of the heinous crime, the official has been suspended and the state government has announced an assistance of ₹ 8.25 lakh to the girl's family.
Police officials said Gajendra Singh, a resident of Rasoolpur village, is posted as the Agriculture Development Officer (Agriculture Protection) in the Shikarpur block. On Monday evening, he went to a village in Ahmedgarh police station area where he saw the girl and the boy playing in the courtyard of the house and went and sat on a cot there.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Bulandshahr) Shlok Kumar said, "Singh entered the house of the girl around 5 pm on Monday. The girl's family was known to him. He raped the girl and then had unnatural sex with a goat that was tied nearby. A boy captured the crime on his phone. Singh has been arrested. Since he is a government official, he has also been suspended and a departmental inquiry is being conducted."
Mr Kumar said the police will seek a speedy trial and make all efforts to ensure that Singh is punished.
The girl's father said he and his wife were working on a farm when the incident took place. The girl and the boy told them what had happened and they registered a police complaint on Tuesday morning.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed Mr Kumar and the District Magistrate to go to the village, meet the survivor's family and aid with the investigation. The government has also announced assistance of ₹ 8.25 lakh under three different heads to the family.
(With inputs from Sameer Ali)
The body of the girl was recovered in her village in Muzaffarpur.
Police officials said the accused is on the run and efforts are on to arrest him. Dalit girl, who was just 14 years old, has been hacked to death with a sickle and the accused in the crime is suspected to be a youth from her village in Bihar, police said on Wednesday. Cuts were inflicted in at least three places, including the girl's face.
The revelation came two days after a 6-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by a government official in Uttar Pradesh and less than a week after a trainee doctor was raped and murdered in Kolkata, pointing to an increase in horrific crimes against women.
Police said the body of the girl was discovered on Monday in Lalu Chhapra village in Muzaffarpur's Paru police station area.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Muzaffarpur) Rakesh Kumar said, "The girl's body was found on August 12. A police team reached the spot immediately. She was injured in three places, including her face, back of neck and hand. A sickle with blood stains on it was found nearby and a forensic report and post-mortem report are awaited. The family has filed a case and named an accused and there is an unnamed accused as well. I have also met the family."
"The family has said the girl was taken from the house by a youth who wanted to forcibly marry her. We are investigating everything and will find out more once the youth, who is on the run, has been arrested," he added.
The girl's elder sister said another member of the family was also murdered recently. She pleaded with the police to ensure speedy investigation so that the family can get justice.
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