Rapes to atrocities: Telangana reports 1,690 crimes against Dalits last year

Hyderabad: On July 29, G Narasimha, a Dalit farmer, was killed when he tried to stop illegal sand lifting from his land at Thirumalapur in RajpurMandal of Mahabubnagar district. He was mowed down by the lorry which was used for sand lifting.

On July 30, Dalit farmer Byagari Narasimulu committed suicide after authorities allegedly grabbed his land for the construction of Rythu Vedika.

These two cases are just the tip of the iceberg. According to National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB), around 1,690 cases of crimes and atrocities have been reported against Dalits in Telangana in 2019. Likewise, in Andhra Pradesh 2,071 cases of crimes have been reported against Dalits.

Around 187 cases of rape were reported against Dalits in Telangana. Of whom, 61 victims were children. Cases of assault on Dalit Women with intent to outrage her modesty were 96 in 2019. Around 172 incidents of “simple hurt” were also registered. There are 1446 backlog cases pending investigation in Telangana.

In Hyderabad, 117 cases of crime and assault against Dalits have been reported in 2019. Thirty one of the cases pertain to rape. Thirteen of the rape victims were children.

In Andhra Pradesh, 401 crimes against Dalit pertain to ‘simply hurt’. It is followed by ‘assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty’ which accounts for 201 cases. Around 112 ‘rape cases were also registered last year. In Andhra Pradesh, there are 2000 cases pending for investigation.

Across the country, 45,935 crimes have been reported against Dalits, an increase by 7.3 per cent. In 2018, 42,793 crimes have been reported against Dalits. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 11,829 crimes against Dalit followed by Rajasthan with 6794 cases.