Committed women activists and Dalit human rights defenders gathered in front of Haryana Bhavan today to protest against the silence of the Haryana Government regarding the cases of rape and murder of Dalit girls. They demanded that the investigation report of the alleged rape and murder of 20 year old Dalit girl in Jind be completed and the post mortem report from AIIMS be made available to the family of the deceased girl.
Protestors at Haryana Bhavan, New Delhi on September 18, 2013
A joint memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister of Haryana through the Resident Commissioner at Haryana Bhavan. The key demands were to conduct a review of Haryana State and declare Haryana as atrocity prone area according to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, activation of the Haryana State Commission for Women and immediate action by the National Human Rights Institutions. The other demands included, relief to the families of gross caste-gender based violence, legal support and compensation to the survivors and the families with reference to the Jind case on priority.
Members from All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, Rastriya Dalit Mahila Andolan, WSS, Saheli, Jagori, Nirantar, AIBSF, Action India and other several other individual activists and students were present at the demonstration.
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Joint Memorandum for the Chief Minister of Haryana
To,
18th Sept, 2013
The Resident Commissioner
Haryana Bhavan
New Delhi
Dear Sir:
Subject: Demand for immediate follow up in the pending investigation of the case of alleged rape and murder of Dalit girl in Jind on Aug. 25, 2013 and steps towards protection of vulnerable Dalit girls in Haryana State.
We would like to bring to your notice, the increasing crimes against Dalit girls and women in Haryana. Ranging from teasing and harassment to gruesome crimes like kidnaps, rapes and murders have been reported from all across Haryana State. We are concerned about the apathy of the police, medical officers, investigations teams and the criminal justice system in delivering justice to the survivors and their families.
We would like to draw your attention to the case of a 20 year old Dalit girl in Jind who was found dead in mysterious circumstances. Her body was found near a canal the next day by the police. There were cigarette burn marks on her body and significant indications of sexual violence. It is clear that she was kidnapped, raped and then murdered.
Immediately after a series of public protests followed both at Jind and Delhi. After nine days of the incident, a one member SIT was constituted to investigate into this case and the other cases of use of excessive force by police on the local protestors in Jind.
It is now over 25 days of this brutal violence on a young Dalit student and we are shocked to view the negligence and lack of accountability on the part of the investigation team. Despite public protests, media coverage, and applications to the National Human Rights Institutions and several other petitions, we are angered at the criminal justice system which is moving at snail’s pace, which makes it clearly evident that the case seems to have reached no conclusion.
In addition, the investigation officer, SP Satish Balan has not given the documents including the AIIMS autopsy report to the family. We view this with utmost suspicion and a clear violation of rights of the family of the deceased girl.
In such a hostile environment both within the community and within the justice delivery system, the vulnerability of a Dalit girl is increased in many ways. Several girls have dropped out from schools and colleges due to the fear and insecurity faced by them on a daily basis. Basic freedoms and right to life are severely restricted for Dalit girls in Haryana.
We the undersigned place before you the following demands:
1. Provide the action taken report on the Jind case and issue instructions to the SIT to complete the investigation and take strict action against the negligent officers.
2. Make available to the public the enquiry report of the lathi charge on the protestors at Jind.
3. Take strict action against the police officers who used excessive force and injured the protesters and also the Police officer who kicked the corpse of the girl at the Jind bus stand.
4. Provide the assured financial compensation to the family of the deceased girl.
5. Ensure that the government job for the father of the girl is made available with immediate effect.
6. Provide security to the family members and ensure their safety during the process of the investigation and trial.
7. Immediately conduct a review of Haryana State to identify and declare the atrocity prone areas under the Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act.
8. Set up exclusive special courts under the SC/ST PoA Act in order to provide swift and speedy justice to the victims and their families.
9. Take steps to ensure that all cases of sexual assault and rapes of Dalit girls are taken to trial in the especially fast track courts.
10. Launch a state-wide campaign to create awareness on the SC/ST PoA Act and its implementation in order to instill confidence in the communities
11. Immediately call for a round table discussion with all the concerned officers and monitor the status of the pending cases of violence against Dalit women in Haryana
12. Take immediate actions to activate the defunct State Commission for Women in Haryana and monitor closely the actions undertaken to provide relief to Dalit women victims and families.
13. Take immediate steps to ensure that the Haryana State Legal Services Authority conducts special trainings for Dalit women and provide legal aid to the survivors and families
14. Conduct state level public hearings at district and state level in collaboration with the NHRC, NCSC and NCW.
Sincerely,
Vimal Thorat Rajni Tilak
All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch Rastriya Dalit Mahila Andolan
Copy to:
(1) Kumari Selja,
Union Minister Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Room No 439, ‘A’ Wing, Shastri Bhawan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-110001 Phone: 91-11-23073567
(2) Chief Minister
4th Floor, Haryana Civil Sectt, Chandigarh
Phone: +91-172-2749396, 2749409
Fax: +91-172-2740526, 2740596
(3) Dr. P.L.Punia,
Chairman, National Scheduled Caste Commission Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi – 110003 Tel: 91-11-24632298 / 24620435 (O), 91-11-23795332 (Telefax) (R) Fax: 91-11-24632298
(4) Mamta Sharma,
Chairperson National Commission for Women 4, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, New Delhi-110002 Phone: 91-11-23230785 Fax: 91-11-23236270
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