Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 20.04.12
Labour court judge booked for rape, offences under Atrocity Act - The Times Of India
'Wall of untouchability' demolished - The Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3333407.ece
Kerala 100% literate? No.. - Deccan Chronicle
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/south/kerala-100-literate-no-948
PhDs recruited as revenue inspectors - The Times Of India
SP orders arrest of senior Bhagalpur Electricity Area Board official - The Times Of India
Dalit groups pulled up over claims - IBN Live
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dalit-groups-pulled-up-over-claims/250338-60-120.html
25 complaints settled at SC/ST panel sitting - IBN Live
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/25-complaints-settled-at-scst-panel-sitting/250513-60-116.html
The Times Of India
Labour court judge booked for rape, offences under Atrocity Act
TNN | Apr 19, 2012, 03.02AM IST
YAVATMAL: The Wadgaon Road police on Tuesday evening booked Atique Mohammad Khan (52), a judge of the district labour court, for allegedly raping his domestic help. The cops have also booked Khan under the Prevention of Atrocity (SC/ST) Act. Till the filing of the report, the accused was not arrested.
According to police officer Sarjerao Gaikwad, the victim (40) who hails from Pune, lodged a complaint against the judge alleging that he exploited her sexually on the pretext ofmarrying her.
She also accused Khan insulting her, criminal intimidation and illegal confinement at his Yavatmal residence. "We heard the woes of the woman and since the case involves a judge, we sought advise from the chief principal district and sessions judge Bashir Sheikh and government pleader PB Gaidbile before registering a criminal offence," said Sarjerao, adding that he booked the accused under sections 343,376, 294, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
Since the victim belongs to the scheduled caste (cobbler), we booked the accused under different provisions of the prevention of atrocity (SC/ST) Act. Sarjerao added that the accused could not be arrested as he moved out of Yavatmal probably to seek anticipatory bail. The complainant is a resident of Ganeshpeth in Pune. Khan was also in Pune before he joined the legal service. He is married. His wife is a teacher in a Pune school.
The victim is married and has two children from her deceased husband. She has been working as a maid at Khan's residence since ten years.
Taking undue advantage of the widow, Khan started sexually exploiting her on the pretext of marrying her and taking care of her kids.
In 2007, Khan was posted at Gondia as judge of the district labour court. He moved out of Pune with the victim and was in Gondia for three years. In 2010, Khan was transferred to Yavatmal and the duo stayed in a flat on Godhani Road. In June, when she insisted Khan marry her, the accused took her to Pune and left her at her mother's house. She was confined to the house when she returned on April 11. When the victim returned to Yavatmal to take her belongings, Khan confined her to his flat and raped her. She somehow managed to escape and approached the police.
She narrated her story to PSO Gaikwad but he refused to take action as the complaint was not in writing.
It is learnt that the woman even requested the police to provide her an escort to Pune as she feared for her life but there was no response from Gaikwad.
Finally, with the help of a lawyer, she drafted a complaint and lodged the same with the police who in turn booked the Judge.
Sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Lata Fad confirmed the incident and said that she is investigating the matter. She also informed that the woman was referred to the government medical college for a medical examination. The report is awaited.
On the progress of the investigation, Fad said that since there is an offence under the Atrocity Act, she has to go into the details. She added that the judge has not been arrested.
In her complaint, the victim stated that she also informed the wife of the accused about the sexual exploitation in Pune. The accused's wife allegedly advised her not to make the incident public but gave her the nod to marry her husband. Police said that this could be the reason why Khan's wife allowed the victim to live with her husband in Gondia while she remained in Pune.
The Hindu
'Wall of untouchability' demolished
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3333407.ece
Special Correspondent
It prevented 300 Arundathiar families from using a road laid by Corporation
The wall that separated Dalits of Senkodan Nagar in Narasothipatti in Ward 3 here from others was demolished on Thursday.
On instructions from Collector K. Maharabushanam, a team of officials from Revenue and Police Departments and Salem Municipal Corporation visited the spot and assessed the situation after The Hindu carried a report on the 10-feet-long and 5-feet high "wall of untouchability" that was erected right across the tar-topped 20-feet road in Meenakshi Nagar, where caste Hindus live.
The wall had prevented 300 Arundathiar families living in Senkodan Nagar next to Meenakshi Nagar, from using the road that was laid by Salem Corporation some 30 years ago. RDO S. Prasanna Ramasamy told The Hindu that the wall should not have been erected across the road. "Our Collector personally supervised the whole issue and wanted us to sort it out as per law," he said.
A team of officials from Salem Corporation led by Executive Engineer A. Asokan pasted a warning notice on the wall at 11 am on Thursday telling those who erected the wall to demolish it before 4 p.m. "Otherwise, the Corporation will demolish it and collect demolition charge from the persons concerned," it warned.
But till 4 p.m., nobody had turned up to demolish the wall. Therefore, the civic body under Section 256 of the Salem Municipal Corporation Act 1994 pulled it down with the help of earthmover.
Meanwhile, tension mounted in the locality with members of the Salem unit of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Committee, Bahajun Samaj Party and other Dalit outfits demanding immediate demolition of the wall. They warned that they would take up the task of demolishing the wall if the Corporation failed to do so. Heavy police pickets were posted at the site to prevent any untoward incident.
S. Palanisamy, who took up the wall issue, said that more than 300 Arundathiar Dalit families of Senkodan Nagar had been using the road for the past three decades. "But the controversial wall came up all in a sudden and prevented us from using it," he said.
Deccan Chronicle
Kerala 100% literate? No..
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/south/kerala-100-literate-no-948
April 19, 2012
DC , Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala's 100 per cent literacy myth has been busted. About 2.2 lakh people belonging to the scheduled castes in the state are illiterate, it has been revealed.
This comes up to 9.5 per cent of the Dalit population.
The figures were part of one of the main findings in the provisional data prepared by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration as part of a study on scheduled caste habitat and families.
Shockingly, the study also suggests that illiteracy among scheduled caste was not decreasing, but increasing.
The number of illiterates among children of the age groups five and nine among dalits is 27,355. Illiterates among children in the age group of 10 and 14 are 454. In the age group, 15 and 24 the number is 2,045.
The study also finds 66 per cent of the scheduled caste population is below the poverty line category.
The analysis also finds that landlessness is another major problem faced by scheduled castes. The 14.5 lakh scheduled castes living in various colonies in the state together only own 29,000 acre. The irony was that 3.4 lakh scheduled caste families live in this 29,000 acre land.
The study also finds that 70,000 scheduled caste families in the State are landless. Another 2.5 lakh families live in one room houses.
The Times Of India
PhDs recruited as revenue inspectors
TNN | Apr 20, 2012, 07.03AM IST
BERHAMPUR: The persistent and acute unemployment problem in Ganjam district became all the more prominent when candidates with PhD, MBA, B Tech and BCA degreesapplied and got selected for posts of Revenue Inspectors (RI), Assistant Revenue Inspector(ARI) and Amin, for all of which a graduation and basic knowledge in computer are the only requirements.
At least 200 persons were recruited, 57 RIs and 143 ARIs after the final selection on Wednesday. Surprisingly, the district administration termed it as the biggest recruitment drive in the last drive. Sources in the administration said, all the selected candidates belonged to SC, ST and social and economic backward classes. "Most of the candidates for the post of the RI are highly qualified and technical degree holders. Two persons withMBA degree, one with PhD, five with B Tech, two with B.Sc and BCA degrees and one with B. ED degree got recruited as RI," said a senior officer. Among others, some were MA degree holders or with post-graduate diploma in computer application, said the officer.
"The situation is such that technical degree holders are left in the lurch, so they are forced to go for the RI and ARI jobs, " said former MLA (Chhatrapur) Ashok Choudhury.
One of the candidates had a two-year working experience with a software firm at Hyderabad. Last year he lost his job due to global economic slowdown. "There was no other option left for me but to apply for the post of RI with the fear of a bleak future haunting me. I am confident to do well in my new assignment," said the candidate requesting anonymity.
A promising and considerably satisfactory pay packet of about Rs 24,000 per month, easy promotion opportunities and the facilities of a government job often lure the candidates to take up the job of RI, said an officer.
"We think the district revenue sectors will get a boost once these qualified and energetic youths are recruited," said district collector Krishan Kumar. (EOM)
The Times Of India
SP orders arrest of senior Bhagalpur Electricity Area Board official
TNN | Apr 20, 2012, 01.12AM IST
BHAGALPUR: Bhagalpur SP K S Anupam has issued order to arrest chief engineer-cum-general manager of Bhagalpur Electricity Area Board (BEAB) K N Singh under the provisions of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The order was issued in connection with a case lodged by BEAB deputy director (personnel) Parmanand Behari in February 2012. Behari had accused the GM of using derogatory, caste-related remarks against him. He lodged a case against the GM at the SC-ST police station. DSP Sheela Irani, who investigated the matter, said that prima facie the allegations were found to be true.
The GM, however, said the allegations against him were "baseless and false". The case was lodged against him by Behari when he was asked about his absence from duty without information, said the GM.
The Bhagalpur SP could not be contacted for her statement on the issue.
IBN Live
Dalit groups pulled up over claims
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dalit-groups-pulled-up-over-claims/250338-60-120.html
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has pulled up a batch of writ petitioners for making various claims and counter-claims in respect of allotment of land under the homeless poor SCs scheme in Valajanagaram in Ariyalur district.
These were very unfortunate litigations where even among the Dalits, two groups exist, which have indulged in fighting over the exact location of their respective plots for over 16 years, Justice K Chandru observed.
When the scheme was intended to help them and compulsory land acquisition proceedings were initiated by the State after paying compensation from its funds, it was for the petitioners to accept the plots allotted to them. If, for any reason, they did not want the plots, no one could compel them to accept them.
They might surrender the same and go for a housing plot with their own funds. The petitioners had not made out any legal ground for the writ petitions to be observed, felt the judge. In the absence of any legal or enforceable right on the part of the petitioners, this court is not inclined to entertain the writ petitions, the judge said and dismissed the petitions after adding that there was no obligation on the part of the State to allot any particular plot to beneficiaries.
IBN Live
25 complaints settled at SC/ST panel sitting
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/25-complaints-settled-at-scst-panel-sitting/250513-60-116.html
THODUPUZHA: The Kerala State Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes Commission on Thursday settled 25 complaints at a hearing held at the collectorate in Painavu. The meeting chaired by commission chairman Justice P N Vijayakumar considered the representations from Peermedu and Thodupuzha taluks.
Twenty cases related to the eviction of SC/ST families from Perinjankutty came up for hearing. Justice Vijayakumar said that follow-up action would be initiated in all complaints.
The commission also considered a request seeking reinvestigation into three cases of unnatural deaths which were recorded as suicide by the police. The commission directed the police to gather more evidence in these cases.
The commission heard 76 complaints and gave receipts with details including the dates of further hearing on various matters. Members of the commission Ex-MLA Ezhukone Narayanan and K K Manoj participated in the sitting.
District Collector E Devadasan, Superintendent of Police George Varghese, commission officials, ITDP project officer and SC/ST Department officials were among those who attended the sitting.
A complaint review meeting will be held at Munnar Panchayat Community Hall at 10.20 am on Thursday.
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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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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