Probe into attack on Dalits

RAJKOT, nov 28: Home Minister Haren Pandya has ordered an inquiry into the attack on Dalits on Saturday which left 41 of them seriously i...

RAJKOT, nov 28: Home Minister Haren Pandya has ordered an inquiry into the attack on Dalits on Saturday which left 41 of them seriously injured in Pankhan village of Keshod taluka and suspended the talati of the village for negligence. The inquiry will be conducted by Junagadh sub-divisional magistrate Bhavin Pandya.

Haren Pandya, who visited the village early this morning, also announced compensation for the injured from the Chief Minister8217;s Relief Fund. 8220;The seriously injured will be given Rs 10,000 each while those with minor injuries will receive Rs 5,000. The compensation will be paid today itself,8221; Pandya told Newsline at the Junagadh Circuit House.

8220;The beating up of about 60 Dalits who were cleaning a gauchar8217; land by the dominant Darbar community is a very unfortunate incident which should never have happened. We have put Deputy Superintendent of Police DySP K Baranda as area incharge to maintain law and order and an SRP picket has been set up with a sub-inspector who will be posted there for sometime. I have also asked the district administration to make a survey of the entire district to find out if there are any other such disputed plots of land which might spark clashes like in Pankhana,8221; Pandya said. The Home Minister today spent some time at the Keshod police station where he studied the case details and said there was a possibility that some of those involved in the brutal attack against the Dalits would be held under PASA. 8220;We are dealing with this incident very seriously and in a manner that will prevent such a thing happening in the future.8221;

This morning, the Home Minister also visited the 41 injured admitted at the Junagadh Civil Hospital.

District Collector Sunayana Tomar said the village had been earlier identified as a trouble-prone spot due to a history of small skirmishes between Darbars and Harijans in the village. 8220;Police protection was provided to the Dalits for sometime, but during elections, the police was withdrawn. The latest incident was because the Darbars thought the Harijans were cleaning up the area to encroach upon it.8221; Describing it as a pre-planned attack, Tomar said the systematic violence was intended to create terror among the Dalits.

8220;There are no head injuries but there are a lot of fractured hands and legs, cuts and bruises.8221; Tomar said that while the situation was normal in the village, special kitchens had been set up to provide food to the affected families.