Maha cabinet discusses rising crimes against Dalits, assures action

Mumbai: The issue of recent incidents of crimes against Dalits in Maharashtra came up in the meeting of the state cabinet today, with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan seeking a program to promote caste tensions-free villages. Chavan asked the ministries of Home, Social Justice and Rural Development to prepare a program on the lines of an existing scheme which rewards dispute-free villages. “Chavan has taken the recent incidents of caste violence in Ahmednagar district including the honour-killing of a dalit youth for being friendly with an upper-caste girl very seriously. He directed the authorities to take immediate steps to restore peace and punish the culprits,” an official said. [caption id=“attachment_1513115” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Mantralaya in Mumbai. AFP.[/caption] A high-powered committee on atrocities against Dalits will meet soon to take a stock of the situation. On 28 April, Nitin Aage, a 17 years old youth, was brutally killed at Kharda village in Ahmednagar district for merely speaking to a Maratha girl. Employment Guarantee Minister and Congress leader Nitin Raut, who visited the places where the recent incidents took place, had written to the Chief Minister yesterday blaming the Home Department for not doing enough to uphold the law and order and punish the guilty. Raut pointed out that in the last one year, 1,634 incidents of atrocities against Dalits were reported. The incidents were on the rise in Pune, Parbhani and Ahmednagar districts. Raut also noted that there was an increase in attacks on Dalits in the last three years of Congress-NCP rule, and long-term policy measures were needed. PTI