Madurai Comes First In Number Of Caste Atrocities In Tamil Nadu
Update: 2022-08-15 11:30 IST
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According to an RTI response activist A Kathir recently obtained, Tamil Nadu documented more than 1,270 incidences of violence against members of Scheduled Castes (SC) in 2021. With 117 cases, Madurai district came in first place. Following the State Police Department's response, a number of activists have called on the government to establish a special hotline for reporting acts of violence against SC members.
Data on violence against SC people, particularly against women and children, have been gathered by Evidence, a social rights-based organisation managed by Kathir. Only 32 of the State's 37 districts provided information on the number of instances in the RTI response.
The remaining districts either didn't give the data or simply provided part of it. About 609 of the 1,272 documented instances are major offences that might result in prison terms of more than seven years.
Last year, the State reported up to 33 murders, 43 rapes, and 293 instances of assault involving hazardous weapons. Tamil Nadu, in contrast, reported 1,144 incidences of caste violence in 2019 and 1,274 incidents the following year.
Kathir bemoaned the fact that only 5%–7% of cases under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act resulted in convictions. "Despite the 2015 modification to the Act explicitly stating that case trials must be expedited in order to give victims justice, a sizable proportion of cases are still pending trial or inquiry for an extended period of time.
He claimed that the State government should think about creating special courts to hear complaints filed under the SC/ST Act in all districts. Only half of all districts currently have exclusive courts for these cases.
While it is commendable that the Tamil Nadu government formed a special committee with 63 members to develop strategies to stop caste atrocities, it should be assured that the committee meets on a regular basis. Additionally, Kathir urged that the government needs to set up a hotline where victims can call and file complaints.