Rakhama Bansode is resident of Malkavatha village under Mudrap police station in Dakshin Solapur Dist., belongs to scheduled caste community. Rakhama is a daily wage labourer. On 21 Sept, 2007, she went to fetch water from a well which is out skirt of the village, a man from Muslim community, caught hold of her, pushed down and raped her.

A rape case was registered in Mudrap on 21/09/2007 against the rapist as No.73/07, u/s 376,506 IPC & 3(1)(xi), 3(2)(v) of SC/ST (PoA) Act. The case was investigated by SDPO Mr. Purushottam Karad. Charge Sheet in the case is filed on 23.11.07, No.82/07, u/s 376,506 IPC & 3(1)(xi), 3(2)(v) of SC/ST (PoA) Act. Victim has received compensation Rs. 25,000/- after the medical examination. Accused arrested but bailed out. 

Case in Brief

Badugu Vani, D/o B. Satyanarayana, aged 20 years, resident of Baduguvaripeta, Uppalaguptam, East Godavari district.  She belongs to Scheduled Caste. Madhura Swamy Naidu, aged 22 years, resident of the same village used to harass Badugu Vani, by saying that he is in love with her.  She refused his proposal saying that she is not interested.  He threatened saying that he would kill her, if she doesn’t love him.  He promised that he would marry her and ultimately succeeded. He put Thilakam on her forehead saying that they were married.  And he gradually developed a physical relation with her.  She conceived and informed the same to him.  He refused to marry her as she is economically backward and married another woman of his caste. The Victim delivered a baby. DNA test was done. 

On 13th September 2007 a complaint was lodged by Vani in the Uppalaguntam PS against Madhura Swamy. FIR was registered u/s 417, 419, 493, 506 r/w 34 on the same day.  

Dominant Caste Villagers of Dhelpurwa village near Hajipur in Vaishali District of Bihar State attacked 11 Nats by alleging them as thieves and lynched 10 of them to death. (Nats come under the SC Category in this State) on 13^th September. One seriously injured was hospitalized in Patna Medical College Hospital. The victims were identified as residents of Tajpur block of neighboring Samastipur District. This horrible news was carried by all Local and National Dailies and TV Channels.

On 13.09.07 there was a overnight Dance Program in the village and it was over in the mid night and these 11 persons came for witnessing this Dance Program and slept there for some hours to take rest as it was midnight   and left around 4.30 am for their houses which is 10 km away from this village where the program was organized. Victims had an altercation with an Auto Rickshaw Driver who demanded more money to drop them at their place of residence, which resulted in the Auto Driver, just raised voice as “Thieves “Thieves” and many slept nearby came running and bashed all the 11 and two out of 11 fell dead immediately and the mob decided to kill the rest to eliminate them as they are the eye witnesses.

The National Commission for Denotified Tribes and Nomadic Tribes and Semi Nomodic Tribes visited the Place of occurrence and came out with a Press Release condemning the Incident and the inaction of the Government. Following are the Commission’s Observations.

This murder was alleged to have been   committed at 4.40 am on the 13^th and it was also alleged that around 5000 people chased and caught the Victims. The Local Police of Rajapakad Police Station claims that they completed their Night Patroling by 4 am on that day, and it was surprising that how it was possible for 5000 persons to assemble within 40 minutes time in the place where the Patrolling was also over just a while ago. It is unbelievable that the villagers live in small pockets, scattered around their cultivable lands have assembled    at this wee hours to chase these Victims.  One of the villagers whom the Team met, shared that there was a Overnight Dance Program and it was over in the mid night and these 11 persons would have come for witnessing this Dance Program and slept there for some hours to take rest as it was midnight   and would have left around 4.30 am for their houses which is 10 km away from this village where the program was organized.

There was another saying that the Victims had an altercation with an Auto Rickshaw Driver who demanded more money to drop them at their place of residence, which resulted in the Auto Driver, just raised voice as “Thieves “Thieves” and many slept nearby came running. It was also the version of some that we met that, there was a heated argument between the 11 persons and the Auto Driver and also the others who came running hearing the word Thieves. In the mean time many more joined and bashed all the 11 and two out of 11 fell dead immediately and the mob decided to kill the rest to eliminate them as they are the eye witnesses. It is a mystery how the Local Police Personnel who just completed their Patrolling did not hear about the voices of 5000 people, but came to the spot only around 5.45 am, late by an hour although the Police Station is situated within half a km distance from the place of murder. 

It is also surprising how these 5000 people returned to their homes quietly and the Local Panchayat President, a Lady, did not know all these, although she lives within a radius of 2 kms from the place of occurrence. It was disturbing that the Panchayat President visited the spot at 9.00 am only as she claims that she was informed only around that time. While there was no theft complaint by any one in that area was made with the Police, it was a wonder that the mob handed over some small gold ornaments telling that they collected them from the bodies of the deceased. This seems to be a cooked up story to prove that they are thieves. It is still more surprising that most of the persons except one or two, whom the Team met, shared the same version that the persons killed were “thieves” and all the 5000 people attacked them and also no one knows who attacked them in the close range. It is also surprising how Officials and Media confirmed, carried and propagated an impression that the Victims were “thieves” when there was no evidence to prove that there was a criminal record pending on the victims in the local police station and No complaints whatsoever was made against them. 

It was shocking that how the bodies were cremated deliberately by the Administration and Police much against to the Rules and Regulations dealing with the unclaimed bodies. It is all the more shocking and mockery   to note that a case under Crime Number 138/2007 was registered in the Police Station under section 147, 148, 302, 307 and 358 and no one was arrested till today for the cause of death of 10 persons. But the next Crime Number 139 / 2007 was registered under section 457, 380  under  which the Hospitalized Victim was arrested by the Police, the victim  was discharged from the hospital on 18^th  September and sent to Judicial Custody for the stealing of a few gold ear rings.  Also no complaint what so ever was lodged by any one that they lost their small ear rings!

Although the Culprits and the Police know pretty well that the murdered persons are the Tribes living in 10 km distance, it is surprising that this case No: 138/2007 did not invoke sections  3(1) (x), (xv), & 3(2) (i), (v) of  SC/ ST (POA) ACT 1989. It is abominable that the District Administration even after 10 full Days of this gruesome murder claims that they were not able to trace out the families of the Deceased and also the Police did not arrest even a single person for this   murder. It was highly disturbing that No adequate effort was made by the District Administration to trace out the Families to offer Relief and Rehabilitative measures spelt out under SC/ST (POA) Rules 1995. No action whatsoever was initiated against the Village Panchayat President who did not care about what had happened in her village and simply sat quite as if it was a very ordinary incident while the lives of 10 Human Beings were brutally taken away by some miscreants. No penal Action against  the erring Police and Administration Officials was initiated under section 4 of the SC/ST (POA) 1989 except the DM and the SP were transferred and the another 4 lower level officials were suspended.

This type of inaction and the lethargic attitude of Police and the Administration will give a free hand to the Non Dalits to Harass and Kill the Dalits in future also as they will be left scot free. 

When Indian Police and the Administration is capable enough of nabbing even Terrorists and Militants within hours of the incident, it was shocking that  why they were not able to arrest the Culprits and also why they were not able to trace out  the Families of the deceased even after 10 full days of this occurrence. It is evident that the CM and the Council Ministers have not given adequate importance to activate the Criminal Justice Administrative System to perform their Legal responsibility except by organizing a meeting of Officials. Even after that the status quo remains the same as No arrest was made till date. The impunity being enjoyed both by the Non Dalits and the Bureaucrats   was not checked and cracked by the Political Rulers of the State.

It appears that there is no Political or Administrative will to render justice to the Victims. Nowhere in the Legal Jurisprudence that the “Vigilance Justice” was allowed to take place in our country where Rule of Law alone reins.   

PIL No. 14624/07 was filed by the NCDHR in Patna High Court with the prayers for implementing the SC/ST (POA) ACT and Rules 1995. Same was admitted with the final orders to the state government to implement the same as early as possible. All Victim got Rs 10,000/- on October 07 and Rs 1,00000/- on November 07. 12 accused were arrested but bailed out. Investigation was done by CID Police Inspector, CID DSP.