Andhra Pradesh - Eluru   

SC, ST panel chief says relief to victims tardy

ELURU: State SC and ST Commission Chairman M. Nagarjuna on Wednesday observed that the administration was failing to ensure prompt relief to victims in SC and ST atrocity cases. He was addressing a media conference in connection with a three-day visit by the Commission in the district. The SCs and STs were losing faith in the SC and ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act due to the inordinate delay in payment of compensation to the victims, he commented.

Stating that misuse of the Act by vested interests was one of the main reasons for the poor rate of convictions in atrocity cases, Mr. Nagarjuna urged the Dalit outfits not to encourage registration of false cases by the police. He said nine out 10 atrocity cases were getting quashed in court due to various reasons, leading to dilution of the Act.

He said the Commission had been receiving complaints during its visits in several areas that the police were dilly-dallying over registering cases under the SC and ST Atrocity (Prevention) Act, giving ample time for the accused to compromise with the victims. In a bid to drive his point home, Mr. Nagarjuna recalled that he had to personally involve himself in getting a case, relating to the suspicious death of a dental student of Lambada community in a city-based Dental College, registered by the police recently.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Youth burnt alive
Collector’s plea
SC, ST panel chief says relief to victims tardy

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu