'Broken roof, vandalised shop' evidence Dalit families singled out in post-poll violence in Bengal, says NCSC head

National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Vijay Sampla, who is on a two-day visit to West Bengal to meet the families affected by the post-poll violence in the state, Thursday said he found evidence that speak of alleged “atrocities” on Dalits. “Broken roofs, scattered household items, locked houses of the complainant and his extended family spoke of atrocities committed on schedule caste families,” Sampla said after he visited Nabagram village in East Bardhaman district of West Bengal to meet one such family. According to a statement released by the commission, when Sampla reached the house of complainant Ashish Khetrapal in the village on Thursday he found it locked. Even the local district and police officers were clueless about the whereabouts of the complainant, the statement said. After receiving information that the injured were in a hospital, Sampla met them. “They were in tears while narrating the horrific incident in which his wife was killed and his brother was grievously injured,” the statement said. Talking about another village in the district, it said 12 shops belonging to SC families were singled out, vandalised and looted in the Milikpara on May 3. Complainants, especially women, openly alleged “complete inaction” of the local police, the statement claimed. It also said that Sampla has asked the District Commissioner to compensate and rehabilitate the victims as per prevention of atrocities act. He also asked them to immediately apprehend all the accused and add sections in FIR under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act More than 25 complainants were personally heard by Sampla in the presence of DC and SSP, the statement said. On 14 May, Sampla will be visiting Sarisa village in South 24 Parganas District, where he will listen to the first-hand account of victims, it said.