India News | SC Commission Visits AP

Amaravati, Aug 24 (PTI): The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is seeking to establish a special cell in Andhra Pradesh to deal with cases relating to atrocities on dalits.

"Several organisations have petitioned us on the growing atrocities on SCs. We will examine them in detail. We will also take steps to establish a special cell to deal with such issues," the Commission Vice-Chairman Arun Haldar said here on Tuesday.

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Haldar led a delegation of Commission members to Guntur on Tuesday to inquire about the murder of an engineering student Ramya last week. They visited the victim's residence and consoled the family members.

The Commission members later conducted a meeting with state Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das, Director General of Police D G Sawang and other officials on the incident.

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They appreciated the quick response by the state government to the incident and arrest of the accused.

Addressing a press conference, Haldar said they would recommend to the Centre to give suitable awards to the police officials who quickly cracked the case.

The Commission members later called on Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at the latter's camp office.

Meanwhile, leaders of the ruling YSR Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam met the Commission separately.

The TDP delegation submitted a 30-page booklet, listing the various attacks on Dalits in the state under the Jagan administration.

"There has been a sudden rise in the number of attacks on Dalits since the YSRC government assumed power in May 2019. Lack of action and empathy from the government is in turn encouraging the perpetrators to continue their atrocities against Dalits," the TDP delegation, led by its general secretary V Ramaiah, told the Commission.

They requested that the Commission order a comprehensive inquiry into the growing attacks on Dalits and take appropriate action.

Countering the TDP, the YSRC leaders told the Commission that the government has been taking stringent action against those responsible for atrocities on women and Dalits.

The YSRC leaders, led by MLC D M V Prasad, told reporters later that they brought to the Commission's notice that atrocities and attacks on Dalits happened during the previous TDP regime. The opposition parties have been trying to politicise the issue only to derive mileage, they said.

"The Commission, in fact, lauded the state government for promptly arresting the accused (in Ramya's case) and extending financial assistance to her family," they added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)