Vemagiri Devudu (32) s/o Pedda Appanna, a daily wage labourer, is the resident of Giduthur village, Makavaram Mandal, Vishakhapatnam District. He belongs to Scheduled Caste (Madiga). He got marriage with one Vara Laxmi for six years ago. She is working as a health worker in the village. On 3-12-07, when Devudu was not at home, the accused Ruttala Sarva Demullu s/o Ramu Naidu trespassed into the house of the victim and attacked his wife and tried to rape her. She escaped from the culprit and ran to the neighbor’s house. The accused went away from there. She narrated the entire incident to her husband when came back home.

While Vemagiri Devudu was going to ask the accused about the incident, he met him on the way and asked the reason of inhuman behaviour with his wife. Then the accused and his supporters called Ruthala Gangadhara, Vechalapu Ramana s/o Peda Rajulu, Singampali Yerram Naidu s/o Appanna attacked the victim with sticks, kicked him indiscriminately. They abused him in the caste name saying “you, Madiga bastard, are you telling about good conduct to us? You are a low- social- status one, remember that! We will do whatever we like. What right do you have to ask us?” In the mean time, Appanna beat victim with a stone on his cheek. He lost his two teeth. Then the victim fell down. The accused haunted the victim up to Bayyavaram village.

He was frightened a lot for his life and so escaped to his relative’s village. The victims went to the village again and made a complaint against the accused on 26-01-08 before the police Makavaam which was registered as a criminal case in Crime No. 06/08, u/s 324, 326, IPC & 3(1)(x)(xi) of SC/ST (PoA) Act. Compensation has not been paid to victims and charge sheet not filed.

Mr.Mariyappan S/o Palani belongs to Dalit Community reside at Piliampalayam Village, Nambiyur, Gobichettipalayam Taluk Erode district. He went to conduct ceremony of ear piercing to wear jewels to his little daughter who grew six year old. On 07.10.2007 he went to approached Sri Karpaga Vinayagar Kamatchi Amman Kalyana Mandapam, Gandipuram, Nambiyur, where the Ayyasamy is the Manager and incharge of the administration of the Kalyana Madapam.  Mr.Mariyappan informed to Ayyasamy that his child’s function on 21.11.2007 and would need the hall on that day from morning till evening. Immediately Mr.Ayyasamy enquired Mr.Mariyappan about his caste and when he told that he belongs to Arunthathiyar community. Mr.Ayyasamy was refused to book the hall and he replied that Arunthathiyar people cannot conduct any function in the Mandapam belongs to Caste Hindu and further uttered that how dare you could ask this Kalyana Mandapam for the function.

Mr.Mariyappan went to Nampiur police station to lodge a complaint. After the complaint to the police, Mr.Ayyasamy responded agreed to receive the advance amount or Rs.1000/- out of the rent Rs.2000/- and he assured that the Marriage Hall was not booked to any one on 21.11.2007.  He printed invitation cards and distributed to his relative and friends for ear piercing ceremany on 21.11.2007. While that being so, certain caste hindus belongs to Nampiur village threatened Mraiyappan to pull our the reservation of the marriage hall for the date 21.11.2007 as the hall is ment only for upper caste people and not for Dalits. Therefore he approached the Sub collector and Deputy Superintendent of police for immediate action in this matter. But caste Hindus threaten to get back the complaint otherwise kill his child.  Therefore Gopichettipalyam RDO conducted peace meeting on 16.11.2007 and 18.11.2007 and he put 144 in Nampiur. Therefore DPI cadres protested and rally against 144 since counter caste was filed against dalits. This case was given judgment to allow all the people to use Marriage hall by Erode sessions court.   

Case in Brief

9 girls in the hostel have completed 9th class in Sanathnagar High School and have come to 10th class.  Since majority of the faculty have resigned and new faculty is not yet appointed, they have been missing important classes.  With the help of Jay Prakash (dalit) a teacher, they wanted to join in Somajiguda High School which is located in Sanathnagar.  The management there rejected to take these girls.  With the help of Jay Prakash and SFI – a student union they approached the DEO and with his recommendation letter went to the school to join there.  As they had the letter from DEO, the management could not oppose and they were admitted into the school.  

Since then the faculty started harassing the girls and humiliated them in front of other students.  For instance, the English teacher asked the class to learn a poem saying that she would conduct test on the next day.  But she conducted the test after 4 days.  As they have read it 4 days before, they could not perform well in the test.  For this, she humiliated them in front of everyone saying that they have fought and entered the school but do not care to study properly.  She has given them only 2 marks out of 10.  After the teacher left, while they were seeing the papers of the other students, they noticed that the other students were awarded more marks. English, Mathematics and Social Studies teachers harassed them everyday.  They sometimes did not allow them into the class.  When these girl students tried to take notes from other students for the days they have missed before joining the school, other students were ready to give notes but the teachers did not allow the students to give notes to any one of these 9 students.  They completed their notes with the help of guides.  The teachers kept humiliating them in the class room that ‘their standard is not enough to join this school, their failure would effect the reputation (percentage) of the school, and they cannot cope up and so on’.  The head mistress Ms. Geetha at first said that she would send the girls privately to the exams, so that their result would not have any impact on the reputation of the school.  Later seeing the girls not leaving the school even after so much humiliation, she threatened them that she would lodge a complaint against them in the police station saying that they are creating nuisance in the school and she also said that she would complain in such a way that no one can bring them out of police station.  She also abused them saying that it is not the nature of girls to behave in such a way and that they had sexual relation with the SFI student union who have come for their help.  Geetha said that she would give them Transfer certificates and asked them to leave the school.  Humiliated and insulted, these 9 girls decided that it is better to leave the school than facing all this humiliation.  They said that they have decided to go out of the school and asked them to give TC.  But Geetha again said that unless they return the text books, she will not give the TC.  Feeling offended, they immediately went to hostel, brought all their text books and then took their TCs.  They joined in another Government School near their hostel.  

Management and faculty of the Somajuguda High School feared that their success rate would go down in case these girls did not perform well.  They tried in all the ways they could to send away the girls from the school.  They insulted, humiliated, threatened, blamed their character and finally succeeded in sending away the girls from the school which is much against the morals and duties of teachers.  

Hostel:     When the DSS team went to visit the hostel, the warden was not present at the hostel.  On the first day, the warden did not come till the team left.  The toilets were unclean.  Second time when one of the team members went to talk to the girls, after one hour, the warden asked her to come and talk to her.  As the girls were sharing their problems in the hostel with her, she said she would come in few minutes, and then the warden sent a girl to say to the girls talking to the team member that she would not give them food if they don’t come down immediately.  When the team member went down, the warden addressed her in singular form and questioned who she was.  When the team member explained the warden who she was, the warden said, “This is my hostel, I will deal with the problems here.  These girls have approached that fellow Jai Prakash and made an issue out of it.  Now you have come.  I don’t need any one to keep solving the problems of the girls.  Who are you to come and see how this hostel is?”  The team member asked where she was when the team has come previously.  The warden said that she was in another hostel.  When the team member questioned about why the facilities are not up to the mark, the warden abruptly cut the topic saying that she doesn’t want to answer and kept silent.