Dalits protest against admn ‘inaction’

Meanwhile,a 14-member peace committee was formed to diffuse the tension between members of the upper caste and Dalits in the village. “But we have made it clear to the Panchkula SDM (K K Kalson) that there will be no discussion on taking back the case in the meeting. The purpose of meeting is to diffuse tension,as we are not able to move around freely. We cannot even harvest our crops. They are also threatening our children from going to schools,” said Lakshman Dass,a victim of the March 17 violence.

Giving an ultimatum to the administration,the villagers threatened to launch a big agitation in the district if their demands are not met by May 4.

An dispute over earning of about Rs 15 lakh from shamlat land had led to a fight between the two groups in Batour village. One person belonging to the Rajput community had attacked the Dalits at a local CPI office armed with sticks. In the fight,Dalits like Suresh Pal,Joginder,Satpal,Lakshman,Gyan Chand and Satpal had suffered injuries.

The police had registered a case the same day under Section 3 of SC/ST Act and Section 148 (rioting),149 (being a member of unlawful assembly),323 (voluntarily causing hurt),452 (trespassing) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC against over 100 people.

The National Commission of Scheduled Castes had also sent a team to the village to take stock of the situation. Following this,the administration had agreed to give Rs 5,000 as compensation to each of the victim as mandated under the SC/ST Act.