Saturday, June 27, 2015

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Friday directed authorities to conduct a postmortem on the body of a 22-year-old dalit engineer who was found dead on a railway track in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

According to an affidavit by Parthiban, friend of deceased V Gokulraj, it was a case of honour killing as the dalit youth was in a relationship with a non-dalit woman, Swathi.

Parthiban said Yuvraj, president of Theeran Chinnamalai Peravai, had abducted and murdered Gokul as he opposed to the relationship between the dalit youth and non-dalit woman.

Swathi had narrated the kidnapping in her statement to police, he said.

A division bench of Justice S Tamilvanan and Justice C T Selvam said the photos submitted to the court would prima facie suggested a case of possible homicide.

"We find it just and reasonable to direct the authorities to conduct postmortem by a team of government doctors and one reputed doctor of petitioner's choice."

The bench then directed the dean of Mohankumaramangalam Government Hospital to constitute a team of doctors. It also appointed Dr P Sampath Kumar, vice-principal, head of department of forensic department, Sri Ramachandra Medical College, as one of the team members.

The postmortem had to be videographed, and the report had to submitted to the court in a sealed covered, the court said.

The Times Of India

Dalit activists protest against 'honour killing' in Namakkal

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Dalit-activists-protest-against-honour-killing-in-Namakkal/articleshow/47837937.cms

NAMAKKAL: Several dalit political parties and outfits, including VCK, BSP and CPI(ML), have condemned the "honour killing" of the dalit engineer V Gokulraj. They protested outside the mortuary at the Salem Government Super Specialty Hospital and also in front of the Salem collectorate's office for the second day on Friday.

"He was kidnapped from Tiruchengodu in Namakkal and murdered by a caste outfit.

Love affair with a goundar caste (BC) girl was the reason behind this murder," said A Chandramohan, state committee member of CPI(ML).

Talking to TOI, Chandramohan alleged that the police's refusal to register a murder case and has let the culprits avoid arrest. He added that police attempted to project the death as a suicide. The state government must intervene immediately to arrest the culprits, he demanded.

"This is also the right time to discuss or to formulate stringent measures including a state legislation to suppress caste elements carrying out honour killings," Chandramohan said, alleged that the state government's anti-dalit stand encourages caste-based groups to commit such barbaric honour murders. This is not only a shame to the civilised society, but also a threat to democracy, he added.

Addressing media persons, state president of Mannin Mainthargal Peravai, 'Sharf' Murali said there were no symptoms of train accident as there were no injuries on Gokulraj's body except that his head was severed from his body. "Even his clothes were not damaged even after the train ran over him. We couldn't find any train accident marks on his body. This was the doubt that came to our mind after seeing the body," he said.

Similarly, members of VCK demanded the police register the case under several sections of the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act. "We also demanded the state government issue a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to Gokulraj's family as they were fully dependent on him. Now, the whole family is shattered because of his death," said Imayavaramban, state youth wing deputy secretary of VCK.

Meanwhile, the Salem city police were able to pacify the protestors. The police also assured them that they will conduct the investigations in a fair manner. Convinced with the assurances, the protestors dispersed.

Gokulraj's mother Chitra Venkatachalam, elder brother V Kalaiselvan and several of their relatives participated in the protests.

Hindustan Times

MP: Dalit girl denied admission, moves court for justice

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indore/mp-dalit-girl-denied-admission-moves-court-for-justice/article1-1363098.aspx

After being denied admission in Class 11 by a private school, a dalit girl and her parents approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday.

They have alleged gross injustice done to them by the school administration and are requesting the court to intervene to restore the girl's fundamental right to equality and education.

According to advocate KK Gupta, the girl, Deepshree Chouhan, completed her primary and secondary level schooling from St Raphael's higher secondary school, but was denied admission in Class 11, despite her qualifying to do so.

"The school administration did not cite any reason for denial of admission, they just refused to admit the girl," Gupta said.

Earlier, her parents had also written to the district collector. The collector issued a letter in her support to the school authorities, but the school administration refused to accept the collector's letter, he said.

In a letter written to the collector, Chouhan alleged that the school administration conducted counselling for admission in Class 11 and did not inform her about it, and that she only came to know after the new academic session began on June 15.

The court admitted the writ petition and will hear the matter on June 29.

DAWN

Rape fastest growing crime in India, says US report

http://www.dawn.com/news/1190691/rape-fastest-growing-crime-in-india-says-us-report

WASHINGTON: Rape is the fastest growing crime in India, but still remains under-reported, according to the a US report on human right violations released on Friday.

According to official statistics, there were 33,707 cases of rape nationwide in 2013, the latest year for which data were available. This was an increase of 35.2 Per cent over 2012.

Women in conflict areas, such as in India-held Jammu and Kashmir, the north-east, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, as well as vulnerable women, including Dalit or tribal women, were often victims of rape or threats of rape.

National crime statistics indicated that, compared with other caste affiliations, rape was most often perpetrated against Dalit women.

Although the law prohibits child abuse, it remained common in schools and institutional settings. The government failed to educate the public adequately against child abuse or to enforce the law.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) remained in effect in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and parts of Tripura. The AFSPA allows Indian security agencies to use deadly force to "maintain law and order" if the central government declares a state or union territory as a "disturbed area".

Non-governmental agencies claim that due to immunity provisions of the AFSPA, the armed forces were not held responsible for the deaths of civilians in India-held Jammu and Kashmir.

Insurgents in the north-eastern states and the Maoist belt also committed serious abuses and were responsible for numerous cases of murder, kidnapping, torture, rape, extortion, and the use of child soldiers, the report said.

According to India's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 540,000 persons were displaced by conflicts and instability in Kashmir, the north-eastern states and the Maoist belt.

The most significant human rights problems in India were police and security force abuses, including extra-judicial killings, torture, and rape.

Widespread corruption contributed to ineffective responses to crime, including those against women and members of scheduled castes or tribes. Societal violence based on gender, religious affiliation, and caste or tribe also continued, the US report said.

The Hindu

Students yet to pay mess dues

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/students-yet-to-pay-mess-dues/article7360752.ece

Six hostels under Arts College have to get Rs.6 crore in dues from students: senior official.

It has been 10 days since the closure of hostel messes in Osmania University (OU), as mess dues of Rs.7 crore remain unpaid. Protesting against the closure and demanding that the TS government release the amount, several Ph.D scholars have been on hunger strike since June 21.

While students point fingers at the government, which they said the latter reportedly promised to waive off the mess dues and provide more funding to OU, the fact remains that many boarders in different hostels of the varsity simply do not pay their hostel dues. A senior official from the Arts College revealed that six hostels under the institution alone have to get Rs.6 crore in dues from students, which has accumulated since 2005.

Senior academicians, requesting anonymity, claim that dues across all the hostels of OU over the past years could be around Rs.10 crore as several students do not pay their dues. "Many of them just don't pay, and are not bothered when their degree certificates are withheld," he pointed out, adding that until now, the management was using internal sources of income such as funds received in the form of fees from admissions of foreign students, to pay hostel dues.

"Now everything has dried up, and we have no money to pay," remarked another senior official from the Arts College. A professor from the college also pointed out that efforts were made a few years ago to collect dues from students by withholding their degree certificates before they graduate.

"But several hostellers would forego it and take admission in another PG course, remaining in the hostel, thereby owing us money for four years," said the former principal of the Arts College. The situation was better among the science and MBA students, as about 60 per cent pay their dues on time.

In the ongoing hunger strike, the Ph.D scholars have also demanded that the government grant fellowships of Rs.8, 000 and Rs.3, 000 to them and post-graduate students. "It has been 10 months since we stopped getting fellowship of Rs.1, 000 and Rs.800 for SC/ST and OBC students," said Venkateswarulu, a research scholar.

The Hindu

1.5 lakh houses for SC/STs

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/15-lakh-houses-for-scsts/article7356005.ece

The State government is set to launch 'Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Nivasa' scheme for building 1.5 lakh houses at a cost of Rs. 2,400 crore for the families belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya told presspersons here on Thursday that one lakh houses would be built in rural areas while the remaining would come up in urban areas.

Under the scheme, an assistance of Rs. 1.5 lakh would be given for building the houses in rural areas, and Rs. 1.8 lakh in urban areas, he said, adding that the scheme was being launched with an aim to make Karnataka a hut-free state. He added that the government had earmarked a record sum of Rs. 16,356 crore for the welfare of SC/ST communities in the current fiscal.

The Tribune

Govts biased against Dalits: Samiti

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/community/govts-biased-against-dalits-samiti/99119.html

Tribune News Service Haridwar, June 26

The Arakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, a non-political organisation of the Dalits, has accused the Central and state governments of meting out step-motherly treatment to the community.

President of the committee Bhan Pal Singh, while addressing a meeting here today, said everyone should be given equal opportunity and the Dalits should be ensured social justice. He, however, alleged that the Central and state governments adopt a casual approach when it comes to the issues of the Dalit community.

He alleged Dalits were not being given employment and promotion as per the reservation clauses owing to "anti-Dalit" attitude of the governments. He alleged there had been a remarkable spurt in violent crimes against Dalit communities. Students belonging to this community were being deprived of scholarships.

Bhan Pal Singh said to press for their demands, a mega convention was being organised at Community Centre -1, BHEL, on June 28. Dalit leaders from across the state would attend the convention.

Eng. RP Singh, Uttarakhand Sanitation Employees Commission chairperson Kiran Pal Valmiki and former Nainital BJP parliamentarian Har Pal Sathi would also participate.

He said they would press the government for the immediate implementation of the Mohammed Irshad Hussain Committee report, filling of government (reserved) posts, allocation of funds under a special component plan to be spend only on the Dalit community, compensation and rehabilitation of Dalits residing in Lakhnauta chauraha village and permanent jobs for sanitation employees in civic and government departments.

The Tribune

Safai karamcharis to oppose govt move to scrap posts

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/safai-karamcharis-to-oppose-govt-move-to-scrap-posts/99114.html

Tribune News Service Mussoorie, June 26

State vice-president of the Safai Karamchari Ayog Santosh Gautam today said they would oppose the proposal of the state government to scrap posts of safai karamchari in local bodies. He was speaking at a meeting of the Ayog held at the Municipal Council in Mussoorie.

He said the state government was planning to scrap posts of safai karamchari in municipal councils and panchayats under the new Act and such a move would be detrimental to their interests.

Gautam said he would oppose any such move and demonstrate against his own government. He would also not hesitate from resigning from the Ayog.

Earlier, he was livid at the absence of various government officials from the meeting. He said a notice would be served on the absentee officials for not attending the meeting.

He also directed the Municipal Council Executive Officer to provide masks and gloves to safai karamcharis within 15 days. He listened to the grievances of safai karamcharis and sought their service books from the Executive Officer. He found several anomalies in the service books. He directed the Executive Officer to keep the service books updated.

News Monitored by Girish Pant & AJEET

.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")

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Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.

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