Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 03.06.14
Minor, dalit girl raped in Ashoknagar, Narsinghpur- The Times Of India
In UP, 10-year-old gang-rape survivor abducted- The Times Of India
Badaun victims do not belong to SC/ST: U.P.- The Hindu
Dalits claim ban on using village roads- The Times Of India
Raped, 4 Haryana teens on stir- The Times Of India
http://timesofindia.
Pregnant minor raped, killed- The Asian Age
Three minors raped, one murdered in separate incidents in Rajasthan- IBN Live
Gangrape in Badaun: UN condemns horrific crime against two Dalit teenaged girls in UP- The Financial Express
A face-off that stunned all- The Hindu
Gang rape exposes India's violent caste system- DW
Note: Please find attachment for DMW HINDI (PDF)
The Times Of India
Minor, dalit girl raped in Ashoknagar, Narsinghpur
BHOPAL: An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth in Ashoknagar district on Monday while three people were arrested for abducting and raping a teenaged dalit girl at Bagpaudi village of Narsinghpur district last night.
In the first incident, an eight-year-old was raped by a youth, at whose house in Naguakhedi village the survivor's elder sister worked as a maid. The minor had accompanied her sister for work on Monday when Golu Raghuvanshi, 20, took advantage of the situation and raped the minor, said superintendent of police Ashoknagar Tarun Nayak.
Sahdora police station in charge Virendra Singh Chouhan told Times of India the incident took place at around noon. "A complaint was lodged when the girl informed her parents," Chouhan said.
Meanwhile, three people were arrested from Bagpaudi village for abducting and raping a 14-year-old girl at a field in the village. Narsinghpur superintendent of police Manish Kapuria said, "In her statement, the survivor complained that the trio abducted her when she was outside her house. She was taken to a deserted field in the village and raped by Thakur while his two accomplices kept guard," Kapuria said.
Meanwhile as villagers reached the site looking for the girl the accused fled.
"All three accused were arrested by police personnel at Sation Ganj police outpost," he said. The accused were identified as Kanhaiya Thakur, Rahul Mehra and Binnu Kacchi, all residents of Bagapudi village.
The Times Of India
In UP, 10-year-old gang-rape survivor abducted
MEERUT: A 10-year-old girl, who was abducted and gang-raped allegedly by three men at a hostel in Ganganagar area in March, was again kidnapped on Sundayfrom outside her home, reportedly by friends of one of the accused who is in jail.
The incident has sent the police department into a tizzy as it is being blamed for not taking timely action in this matter. The police teams conducted raids throughout the night, but were not able to find the girl.
The victim's family claimed they had been receiving threats after lodging a police complaint on March 19 against the three accused. While one of them, Arvind, was arrested and sent to jail, the others are still at large.
SSP Omkar Singh said five police teams have been set up to trace the minor. He said the girl's parents had lodged a complaint against Arvind's mother and his two friends in connection with her abduction, following which an FIR under SC/ST Act was lodged against them. Arvind's mother has been arrested, police said.
The girl's family is alleging that the police did not pay heed to their demands for protection for the girl. They claimed that last month, an attempt was made on her life when a speeding car tried to mow her down. She escaped with a fractured leg.
However, police claim that say no demand for her protection was made.
The Hindu
Badaun victims do not belong to SC/ST: U.P.
With the Centre sending a letter to the Uttar Pradesh government asking why the SC/ST Act was not used against the accused in the Badaun gang-rape case, the Home Department here on Monday clarified that “the caste of the victims does not attract the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”
IG, Law and Order, Amrendra Sengar, said, “There is no confusion at the district level in this matter as the caste of the victims does not come under the Scheduled Caste or Tribe,” the official said.
The official said he was not aware whether the letter recommending a CBI inquiry into the case, as announced by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, has been sent to the Centre or not so far.
Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in Delhi: “The law is there. It is to protect the SCs and STs from atrocities. It was a clear case of atrocity on a weaker section of the society. We do not know why the State government has not slapped it [clauses] against the accused.” Mr. Rijiju said the letter to the U.P. government was sent on Monday. According to sources, the two cousin sisters belonged to “shakya” caste, which comes under the category of Backward Castes. — PTI
The Times Of India
Dalits claim ban on using village roads
SIVAGANGA: Dalits of Easanur village in Sivaganga district have accused the caste Hindus of blocking the general path bordering the two tanks in their village, making it difficult for them to visit the temple, fields or answer their nature calls as their houses do not have toilets.
The village in Sivaganga taluk has a dalit population of 65 families and is dominated by non-dalits. Over the years, both the caste Hindus and dalits were taking part in the Sri Seruvalingam Ayyanar temple festival held in their village during March-April every year. A dispute that arose between both communities over the temple festival eight years ago, led to the festival being put on hold for seven years. As the temple came under the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department, authorities stopped the rituals to prevent any unrest.
However, both communities approached the Madurai bench of the Madras high court seeking permission to conduct the festival and the court in an order delivered on April 4 this year had asked the district collector and Sivaganga superintendent of police to intervene and settle the matter amicably by June 10. Both communities were invited for a peace meeting by the police and revenue officials following the order. But, the non-dalits on the night of April 8 went ahead and carried out the most important ritual of that festival, that is, to take the mud horses kept in the village community hall to the temple in a procession. This was strongly objected to by the dalits.
The Times Of India
Raped, 4 Haryana teens on stir
http://timesofindia.
NEW DELHI: The rape and murder of the two teenage girls in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district last Wednesday sent shockwaves across the country, and also threw into focus four rape survivors from Bhagana village in Hisar, Haryana, who have been protesting at Jantar Mantar in the national capital since April 16.
Bhagana is some 170 km from New Delhi.
The survivors, aged between 13 and 18 years, belong to the landless Dhanuk sub-caste, and worked for upper caste landowners. Villagers say the khap panchayat had imposed a social boycott against the caste group, forcing 250 families to leave their homes and flee the village.
The displaced villagers say atrocities against them began over a 280-acre piece of common village land two years ago, which the Jats tried to usurp with the help of local authorities and the khap.
According to the rape survivors, on March 23, they went to a field to relieve themselves in the evening, a routine the families follow in the absence of toilets in their homes.
Five Jat men dragged them and forced them into a car. The girls were found the next day at Bathinda railway station in Punjab, some 160 km from their village.
The youngest survivor, a 13-year-old, says she remembers a strong-smelling handkerchief being thrust on her face. Her next memory of that time is waking at the station with bruises and torn clothes. She says she also recalls the weight of the bodies of the men, on her. The four sit silently with their parents and members of their caste group, their faces covered in scarves.
Father of one of the survivors says he worked with his entire family of four in the farm belonging to the village sarpanch, for a sum of Rs 50,000 a year.
On March 23, when the girls did not return till late evening, a frantic search began. Villagers approached the sarpanch, who assured them that the girls would soon be found.
The next morning, villagers said, the sarpanch, with two of his relatives, drove them to Bathinda in Punjab.
"He told us to stay in the car. The three of them went into the station. Half an hour later, they emerged with the girls, who were in shock, hiding their faces. Later, the girls told us he threatened them and told them not to reveal anything to anyone. The girls, however, named all the accused. Next morning we went the police station and filed an FIR. The girls were sent to the hospital for tests, they were made to wait for 8-9 hours," the father said. In 2012, the khap panchayat called for a social boycott of 130 Dalit families at Bhagana village, over the land dispute. Following the girls' rape in March, 90 more families have fled the village.
"Rape is a weapon for revenge, suppression and humiliation against the lower caste. The police and administration belong to Jats in Haryana. We are treated like cattle," said Jagdish Kajla, a member of the Bhagana Kand Sangharsh Samiti, which is spearheading the fight for justice to the four girls.
In last two months, the villagers have made representations to the Haryana CM, Bhupinder Hooda, National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Women and the SC/ST Commission, but have got no reprieve. Five people have been arrested so far in this case. Protestors demand that an FIR be lodged against the sarpanch and his relatives, and compensation be granted to the victims and their families, to enable the rehabilitation of Dalit families.
Virender Singh Baghodia of the Bhagana Kand Sangharsh Samiti said, "The Jat sarpanch knew about the gang rape, but the police is scared to touch Jats. For us, the government and the khap are just the same."
The Asian Age
Pregnant minor raped, killed
The chief minister said that she has instructed the DGP about strict action against the accused and that they should get punishment at the earliest
Badaun, Bareilly or Jhalawar, the place may be different, but girls live under same fear. While the country is yet to overcome shock and anger from gruesome rape and murder of two dalit girls in Uttar Pradesh, a minor pregnant girl was gangraped and killed in the VVIP district of Jhalawar.
The victim’s body was found near a water body outside Kholi village on Sunday, which falls under chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s constituency Jhalarapatan while her son Dushyant Singh is member of Parliament from Jhalawar. This is second incident in Jhalawar after rape of a five year old girl.
The 15-year-old girl went missing after she had gone for grazing cattle on Saturday. Her family searched for her whole night after she didn’t return in the evening. In the morning, villagers found her bruised body, which also had several burn marks on body, suspecting that the accused had burnt her with cigarettes and bidis.
While the victim’s family accused three persons of the village with whom it had old rivalry, the enraged villagers had refused to take the body demanding arrest of the culprits and compensation for the victim’s family.
However, they later relented after the senior police and district administration officials rounded up a young person and announced compensation of `3 lakh.
According to the police, there were clear strangulation marks on the body. During the post-mortem, the girl was found to be pregnant for six months.
Meanwhile, chief minister Vasundhara Raje said that she is disturbed with the recent incidents of rapes and her sympathise are with the families of the victims. Ms Raje said she has instructed the DGP about strict action against the accused and that they should get punishment at the earliest.
About gangrape and murder of the minor girl, she said that the accused have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.
IBN Live
Three minors raped, one murdered in separate incidents in Rajasthan
Three minor girls were allegedly raped, and one of them murdered in separate incidents in Rajasthan, police said on Monday.
A 14-year-old girl, a resident of Kholi village, had gone to graze her goats in forest area when she went missing Saturday afternoon. She was found dead on Sunday morning about a kilometre away from the village, Hari Singh, SHO Bakani police station said.
"The family of the girl alleged that she was raped and then strangled to death by Pappu Lal Tanwar (23), his cousin Shyam Lal (21) and Lalchand Tanwar from the same village. The accused were booked under sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) of IPC and sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act," the SHO said.
"Two of the accused were arrested today," Circle Officer Khushal Singh said. Doctors have not ruled out rape before murder of the minor but it will be confirmed only after the forensic science laboratory report is received, they said. The body of the minor was handed over to the family on Sunday after postmortem for performing last rites. Her family members demonstrated in front of the police station with her body. Later, District collector Vishnu Charan Malik announced a Rs 3 lakh compensation to the grieving family.
In another incident, a 5-year-old girl was raped by her neighbour on Saturday night in Narayanpura village. Hamraj Kanjar raped the minor girlon Saturday night when she was sleeping on the roof of her house with her 8-year-old brother, Sudhir Kumar, SHO Mahila police station said.
"Hearing her cries, her parents, who were sleeping on the ground floor rushed upstairs and took the victim to Jhalawar district hospital where she is undergoing treatment. Her condition is stable," Kumar said.
Kumar said a case under section 376 (rape) of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was lodged on Sunday against the accused following which he was arrested.
A medical test of the accused, who is believed to be a juvenile, was also conducted to ascertain his actual age. PCC Chief Sachin Pilot would visit the families of both rape victims on Tuesday in Jhalawar, according to a PCC spokesperson.
In another case, a 15-year-old Dalit girl was raped in her house in Ladli ka baas village in Dausa district.
"Kanaram Meena (26) raped the girl when she was alone in the house yesterday," SHO Nangal Rajawatan Murari Lal said, adding that the victim was admitted to a hospital and the accused has been arrested.
The Financial Express
Gangrape in Badaun: UN condemns horrific crime against two Dalit teenaged girls in UP
The United Nations has condemned the "brutal" gangrape and murder of two Dalit teenaged girls last week in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district, calling for immediate action against the perpetrators and to address violence against women and girls across India.
"There should be justice for the families of the two teenaged girls and for all the women and girls from lower caste communities who are targeted and raped in rural India.
Violence against women is not a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue," Resident Coordinator of the UN system in India Lise Grande said.
UN Chief Ban Ki-moon too had called the recent incidents of violence towards women in India and Pakistan "appalling".
"In recent days we have also seen other tragic incidents in which women have been the targets of appalling violence – from Pakistan to India to California and Nigeria. The world will never find true peace and prosperity if half the population face discrimination and exploitation," Ban had said in remarks made to reporters in Toronto last week.
The UN system in India said ending violence against women and girls is a fundamental goal of the world body and assured its support to people across the country to do what it takes to ensure that every woman and every girl can live safely and with dignity everywhere.
"Every girl and woman should be able to live safely, feel protected and grow up free of violence," UN Women's Representative in India Rebecca Tavares said.
"Amongst the many actions that need to be taken, the UN encourages the speedier application of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, including the establishment of the one-stop crisis centres. The justice system is key to addressing the problem," Tavares said.
Grande noted that many "progressive reforms and changes" have been put in place following the brutal gang-rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi in December 2013 but stressed the need for implementing the laws meant for the protection of girls and women.
"But having the laws in place are only one part of the solution – their implementation also matters as does changing mind-sets. Violence against women and girls is preventable, not inevitable. Sustained implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and the setting up of Special Courts and child friendly procedures for victims under 18 years of age are also key priorities," Grande added.
The latest brutal act of violence against the girls in UP also highlights the dangers girls and women all over India are exposed to due to the lack of toilets.
UNICEF's Representative to India Louis-Georges Arsenault said around 65 per cent of rural population in India defecates in the open and women and girls are expected to go out at night. "This does not only threaten their dignity, but their safety as well," Arsenault said.
Last week, the UN had described as a "horrendous crime" and strongly condemned the incident and stressed that all citizens should be protected by the law.
The Hindu
A face-off that stunned all
Ravindranath and Auradkar have had conflicts in the past too
The episode of Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) P. Ravindranath and Bangalore city Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar getting into a conflict following the ‘photo snapping’ incident at a coffee shop has rattled the Police establishment.
Though the government ordered a probe by the Criminal Investigation Department into the issue, Dr. Ravindranath, a Dalit, filed a complaint against Mr. Auradkar accusing him of practising untouchability against him. The officers have had conflicts in the past too. In 2006, Mr. Auradkar accused Dr. Ravindranath of having naxalite links.
A physician by profession, Dr. Ravindranath, a 1989 batch IPS officer, earned a reputation by conducting free medical check-ups for the constabulary and their families. The son of a prominent Dalit leader from Andhra Pradesh who served as the Finance Minister of that State in the 1980s, Dr. Ravindranath also has a reputation among his juniors of being an upright officer.
Some senior IPS officers point out that Dr. Ravindranath’s offer to resign over the incident was the second time he expressed a desire to quit. A few years ago, he sent in his resignation when he was denied leave.
Now, Dr. Ravindranath has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into two cases — one in which he is accused of taking photographs of a woman in the coffee shop, and two, the atrocity case he has lodged against Mr. Auradkar and two other police officials.
Director-General of Police (DGP), CID, Bipin Gopalakrishna said it was the prerogative of the investigating officer to decide whether or not to arrest Dr. Ravindranath. Dr. Ravindranath declined to take his official car and walked towards his home at HSR Layout from the DGP’s office on Nrupatunga Road on Saturday.
Bickering on Twitter
Twitter, which was extensively used by politicians during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, proved counterproductive for actor-turned Congress politician Ramya, who contested from Mandya. Ms. Ramya, who narrowly lost the election, has more followers on the social media platform than the former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani, who also lost the election. Ironically, it was the tweets that landed Ms. Ramya in trouble in the run-up to the polls. Her “godfather” in cinema and politics M.H. Ambareesh criticised her excessive dependence on Twitter. Mr. Ambareesh said Ms. Ramya would not be able to reach the people of Mandya through social media, and that she should instead tour the constituency to listen to people’s problems.
Ms. Ramya promptly retorted with a tweet that she would connect with those who are on social media and with the others in person under a scorching sun. “The future belongs to technology, if you are not in it, you will be left out. I don’t want my people to be left out,” she tweeted, creating a stir among Congress workers. After her defeat, she was again caught up in a bitter Twitter war with actor-turned politician Jaggesh, a legislator. Mr. Jaggesh dubbed her an opportunist on the social media website. He described her as an opportunist who downgraded cinema after the bypoll win last year and then changed her stand after losing the election. Ms. Ramya responded immediately, saying she was against taking up new film projects, but committed to completing the existing ones.
No relatives, please
One of the orders issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Ministers is that they should shun appointing their relatives as their personal staff. What is interesting is that Karnataka had shown the way long ago. When the then Maharaja of Mysore informed Sir M. Visvesvaraya that he would be appointed the Dewan, the engineer-statesman called a meeting of his extended family and told them that he would accept the post only if they agreed not to visit him either at his residence or office for any favours. He joined the service only after they gave him the promise.
Twenty-five years ago, Ramakrishna Hegde, who took over as the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Karnataka, followed the precedent and issued a circular asking his Ministers not to have any officers belonging to his or her caste, let alone their relatives. This, however, was observed more in breach.
More recently, K.H. Srinivasa, when he held the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Legislation Council, declared on the floor of the Council that he was adhering to the principle outlined by Hegde.
Belgaum flatters to deceive
Belgaum city, bordering Maharashtra, is the commercial hub and divisional headquarters of north Karnataka, ranking only second to Bangalore in terms of overall exports. The city has been projected as the second capital of the State. The government built the Suvarna Soudha on the outskirts in a stated move to ensure expeditious implementation of welfare schemes.
The tag of the second capital has, however, remained on paper. For instance, the delivery of services under the Sakala scheme shows that Belgaum is ranked 26th among the 30 districts in the State; one down from its rank in January 2013. Though the district ranked top in terms of awareness level (97 per cent) of the scheme, delivery of services has been abysmal.
Belgaum residents have reasons to feel disappointed and want the administration to reverse the downward trend.
DW
Gang rape exposes India's violent caste system
The brutal gang rape of two teenage girls has once again exposed the vulnerability of Indian women to sexual crimes. Experts say low-caste women are subject to sexual assaults more often than others.
It has been almost a week since the gang rape of two Dalit girls in the small village of Katra in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. A number of politicians and government officials have visited the family of the deceased to offer condolences and compensation. The bereaved family, however, has refused to accept the money.
According to the police, on Tuesday May 27, the two cousins, aged 14 and 15, went missing from their home after going into the fields because there was no toilet in their home. The following day Indian TV footage showed the villagers sitting under the girls' bodies as they swung in the wind, and preventing authorities from taking them down until the suspects were arrested. An autopsy report found the girls had been raped before being hanged from a tree. Police arrested two police officers and two men from the village the following day and are searching for three other suspects.
There have been several rape cases in the South Asian country in the past few years, but this one highlighted the link between India's caste system and the increasing sexual violence against women.
"Can there be any justice for the low-caste people like us? Do we always have to live and be treated like animals?” asks Lilawati, a neighbor of one of the murdered girls.
The father of one of the girls stood motionless in a corner of his ramshackle house. He only opened up only when the debate veered to whether justice would be done in his daughter's case.
"Two policemen took part in the assault. I pleaded to the senior officials to arrest them but they didn't listen to me. Justice is not meant for us. Dalits are treated like dogs," he told DW, adding that had the police acted swiftly after his daughter went missing, she could have been saved.
A series of gang rapes
The recent attacks have spotlighted India's ongoing struggle with sexual violence. Women's safety in India has been in the international spotlight since the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012 - an incident that drew international condemnation and led to the introduction of stricter laws.
Officials say around 25,000 rapes are committed every year in India, a nation of 1.2 billion people. Activists say, however, that number is low because female victims are often pressured by family or police to remain quiet about the crime.
Statistics reveal that Dalit women are harassed, raped and even murdered with impunity, indicating that things haven't changed much despite the fact that India now takes the issue of rape more seriously than before.
"It is amply clear that dominant castes are known to use sexual violence against Dalit women and girls to punish them, assert their power or simply settle personal disputes," Ranjana Kumari of the Center for Social Research told DW.
Caste-based violence
Dalits make up 21 percent of the 200 million people living in Uttar Pradesh.
"Dalit women are more vulnerable to sexual crimes than other social groups. They feel more insecure, and face structural violence," Kalpana Kannabiran, director of the Council for Social Development, told DW, adding that the caste system allows such crimes to continue without any check.
Campaigners like Vrinda Grover, a lawyer and women's rights activist, who was in the forefront of the movement that tightened India's anti-rape laws, feels little has changed on ground.
"Look at the systemic and routine sexual violence experienced by Dalit girls and women. And still some people say that castes do not matter in India. We all should be ashamed," Grover told DW.
News Monitor by Girish Pant
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
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.
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
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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