Minor Dalit girl raped in Rampur
The 16-year-old victim had gone to relieve herself in a field in Shahbad Tehsil on Monday night, when the accused allegedly caught hold of her and raped her at gun-point, police said today.
The accused, Om Singh Yadav (22), who was known to the victim was arrested yesterday, they said.
Authorities have announced a compensation of Rs 60,000 under the SC/ST Act for the victim, Rampur collector CP Tripathi said.
The petition challenging the law and the amendments was filed in 2009 by Archbishop of Gandhinagar, Stanislaus Fernandes, and social activists P K Valera, Hanif Lakdawala, Valjibhai Patel and Dwarikanath Rath. A division bench had admitted the petition but no hearing took place after that. Last week, the petitioners requested court to hear the case. The bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala had posted it for hearing on Thursday.
The petition filed through senior counsel Girish Patel claims that that the provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, as well as the rules amended in 2008 are constitutionally not valid. The prior permission of a district magistrate that has been made mandatory before performing any ceremony of conversion or participation in such ceremony, directly violates the fundamental right of freedom of conscience and freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion granted under Article 25 of the Constitution, the petition says.
It further contends that a secular state cannot intervene in any case of free and voluntary religious conversion for granting or refusing permission. A state cannot regulate or control free practice of religion on the pretext that it was necessary to prohibit conversion by force or allurement. The petition says that basic distinction between the Gujarat law and the laws in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh was in respect of the mandatory requirement of prior permission. The petitioners told the court that the apex court in 1977 had upheld the validity of Orissa and MP's laws.
The petitioners have also maintained that the Act is mainly aimed at preventing dalits and adivasis from converting to another religion, and forcing them to remain in the Hindu fold.
Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 19.06.14
Minor Dalit girl raped in Rampur - Zee News
Relief for affected Dalit families sought - The Hindu
Frame Guidelines for SC/ST Sub-plan: CPM - The New Indian express
Cops Told to Finalise Pending Cases - The New Indian express
High Court quashes complaint against ex-Andhra Bank officials - The Deccan Chronicle
Hearing likely today on anti-conversion law - The Times OF India
Zee News
Minor Dalit girl raped in Rampur
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 18, 2014, 22:04
Rampur: A minor Dalit girl was allegedly raped by a married man at gun-point in Rampur district, the eighth rape incident here this month.
The 16-year-old victim had gone to relieve herself in a field in Shahbad Tehsil on Monday night, when the accused allegedly caught hold of her and raped her at gun-point, police said today.
The accused, Om Singh Yadav (22), who was known to the victim was arrested yesterday, they said.
Authorities have announced a compensation of Rs 60,000 under the SC/ST Act for the victim, Rampur collector CP Tripathi said.
According to police records, eight rape incidents have been reported in Rampur this month, while 25 sexual assault cases were lodged in the district in the past six months.
PTI
The Hindu
Relief for affected Dalit families sought
Staff Reporter
The State government must pay adequate compensation to each Dalit family affected by caste violence in the southern districts, said Thol.Thirumavalavan, president of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).
Addressing a protest meeting here on Wednesday to condemn the inaction of the State police against those involved in atrocities against Dalits, he said that while the governments in neighbouring States offered adequate relief to the victims, Tamil Nadu government was reluctant to rehabilitate them.
“In the past year there had been several cases in which Dalits were attacked by Caste Hindus, and their properties ransacked. Yet, the government had failed to protect them and also act against the perpetrators,” he charged.
Criticising the police for favouring Caste Hindus and rendering injustice to the Scheduled Caste people, he said that in many cases the police refused to accept complaints from the Dalits who were subjected to oppression.
Further, reacting to an allegation of misuse of the PCR and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, by Dalits, the VCK leader said that it was ridiculous to accuse Dalits of misusing it because any law could be enforced only by the government and not by the people. Hence it did not make any sense to blame Dalits, he added.
On the Uttar Pradesh gang rape incident, Mr. Thirumavalavan reprimanded the State government for failing to curb the rising number of rape cases. Further, he condemned the remark made by the Ministers in Uttar Pradesh over the rape incident and also asked the Centre to take steps to dissolve the Akhilesh Yadav government.
Earlier in the day, addressing reporters at a press conference, Mr. Thirumavalavan asked the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime to strictly enforce Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the State. The Dalit party leader also appealed to the State government to set up a monitoring committee to ensure that educational institutions implemented the 1992 government order which mandated the institutions to provide education to SC/ST students.
Denouncing the Centre’s silence over the Sri Lankan riots, Mr. Thirumavalavan said that the BJP-led government must adopt a stand against the Sri Lankan government for failing to protect the minorities. Over 300 people took part in the demonstration and raised slogans.
The New Indian express
Frame Guidelines for SC/ST Sub-plan: CPM
By Express News Service
HYDERABAD: CPM Andhra Pradesh unit secretary P Madhu demanded chief minsiter N Chandrababu Naidu to frame rules before the budget session for the effective implementation of the SC/ST sub-plan.
In a letter to the chief minister, the CPM AP unit chief said that the plan was not being implemented effectively as the government had not framed rules. “The state government should draw guidelines in such a way that there is no scope for loopholes and funds reach the beneficiaries,” Madhu said in the letter.
The government should constitute an expert committee with representatives of Dailt and tribal organisations, civil societies before allocating funds for the plan, he said and added that separate funds should be allocated to the SC and ST nodal agencies.
The New Indian express
Cops Told to Finalise Pending Cases
By Express News Service
GUNTUR: Guntur rural SP J Satyanarayana has ordered the police officials to finalise all the pending cases in a month and execute 306 pending non-bailable warrants (NBWs) immediately. He also told them to solve as many cases as possible at Mega Lok Adalat to be held on June 21.
Addressing the district crime review meet in the city Wednesday, Satyanarayana directed the police personnel to regularly conduct morning and night patrolling, and increase visible policing to prevent property offences. He asked them to take special care in case of SC/ST cases, women related complaints and boy-girl missing cases. The rural SP pulled up policemen of Pedanandipadu, Ponnuru, Bapatla and Repalle for not taking stern action on gambling, betting and cock fighting activities.
An awareness seminar was conducted on POSCA (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012) and Nirbhaya Act on the occasion.
The Deccan Chronicle
High Court quashes complaint against ex-Andhra Bank officials
DC CORRESPONDENT | June 19, 2014, 03.06 am IST
Hyderabad: Justice S. Ravi Kumar of the Hyderabad High Court has quashed a criminal complaint lodged against a former general manager and an assistant general manager of Andhra Bank under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The judge was allowing a petition by former general manager of Andhra Bank S.R.K. Prasad and assistant general manager Sri Bose seeking to quash the proceedings pending before the additional metropolitan magistrate court initiated by B. Abraham Lincoln, a former employee of Andhra Bank alleging that the officials have abused him in the name of his caste.
Dr K. Lakshmi Narasimha, counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the complainant had filed false complaint against the petitioners after his dismissal from the service.
Dr Narasimha said that the complainant bore grudge against the petitioners as they represented to the National Commission of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes that an inquiry by the vigilance department was pending.
After perusing the facts, the judge held that no case was made out against the petitioners.
The Times OF India
Hearing likely today on anti-conversion law
TNN | Jun 19, 2014, 12.45 AM IST
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court is going to hear the petition questioning constitutional validity of the anti-conversion law of 2003 and the amendments made to it by the state government in 2008. The amendments had made it mandatory for a person keen to change his religion to get prior permission from the government.
The petition challenging the law and the amendments was filed in 2009 by Archbishop of Gandhinagar, Stanislaus Fernandes, and social activists P K Valera, Hanif Lakdawala, Valjibhai Patel and Dwarikanath Rath. A division bench had admitted the petition but no hearing took place after that. Last week, the petitioners requested court to hear the case. The bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala had posted it for hearing on Thursday.
The petition filed through senior counsel Girish Patel claims that that the provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, as well as the rules amended in 2008 are constitutionally not valid. The prior permission of a district magistrate that has been made mandatory before performing any ceremony of conversion or participation in such ceremony, directly violates the fundamental right of freedom of conscience and freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion granted under Article 25 of the Constitution, the petition says.
It further contends that a secular state cannot intervene in any case of free and voluntary religious conversion for granting or refusing permission. A state cannot regulate or control free practice of religion on the pretext that it was necessary to prohibit conversion by force or allurement. The petition says that basic distinction between the Gujarat law and the laws in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh was in respect of the mandatory requirement of prior permission. The petitioners told the court that the apex court in 1977 had upheld the validity of Orissa and MP's laws.
The petitioners have also maintained that the Act is mainly aimed at preventing dalits and adivasis from converting to another religion, and forcing them to remain in the Hindu fold.
News monitored by Girish Pant - PMARC
.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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