The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Forum seeks mechanism to ensure justice for Dalits in Kambalapalli case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007
ePaper


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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Forum seeks mechanism to ensure justice for Dalits in Kambalapalli case

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: The Government's promise to file an appeal in the Karnataka High Court against the sessions court verdict in the Kambalapalli Dalit massacre case will prove to be hollow unless a foolproof mechanism is put in place to ensure justice, members of the Progressive Thinkers and Organisations Forum have said.

One of the representatives of the forum, N.V. Narasimhiah, said all the accused had been acquitted because witnesses had turned hostile. Unless witnesses were protected from intimidation and bribery, the High Court was likely to approve the earlier verdict since much hinged on witnesses' accounts. "We need judicial reforms to ensure that witness statements can be recorded immediately after the incident," he suggested.

N. Babiah proposed that a forum of committed lawyers be formed to strengthen the prosecution. Citing the demands of a fact-finding team (of which he was a member) that visited Kambalapalli after the incident in March 2000, he said though the Government had built houses for Dalits, they were yet to get cultivable land as was promised. Leaders of all political parties had used the incident to derive political mileage, while cases of atrocities against Dalits continued to be reported in Kolar district. A strong verdict in the case would have served as a deterrent.

Forum convener Sandur Kumaraswamy said while civil society and media had been proactive in the Jessica Lal and Best Bakery cases, the Kambalapalli case had largely been ignored. The indifference reflected badly on society's priorities. While Dalits, women and minorities always faced injustice, not all cases within this category were treated equally by society.

T.N. Chandrakanth said a seminar on the Kambalapalli verdict would be held on Thursday at the Mythic Society here. The seminar would help prepare a base for the forum's course of action, he added.

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