Deadly attack on Dalit youth in Balrampur: Casteist slurs hurled, FIR filed against 4
A case of assault, casteist slurs, and death threats against Dalit youth has come to light in Balrampur village, under the Narsena police station jurisdiction. The victims have filed a complaint against four named accused at the Narsena police station, demanding strict action. According to the complaint, Ankit Kumar, son of Dharamveer, Dharmendra, son of late Sukhdev Singh, and Bobby Kumar, son of Vijendra Singh, residents of Balrampur village, told the police that they were attacked by Shiva, son of Kiranpal Singh, Shailesh, and Mainpal, along with others from the same village. The attackers allegedly assaulted them with sticks and sharp weapons (shovels). The victims reported that when they protested, the accused abused them, used casteist slurs, and threatened to kill them. The victims allege that the accused have a domineering nature, creating an atmosphere of terror within their families. Following the incident, the victim’s family reached the Narsena police station and filed a written complaint naming the accused, demanding legal action by filing a case against them. Station House Officer Ram Kishore Gautam stated that the complaint has been received and the matter is being investigated. Further legal action will be taken based on the investigation. Dushyant Kumar Rana | Unchagaon (Syana), Bulandshahr Courtesy: Hindi News
Police solve mystery behind Dalit youngster’s murder in Adilabad
Adilabad police arrested six persons for the murder of 23-year-old Nathari Sathish in Neradigonda. Investigators said the crime was linked to a personal dispute involving a girl. The case was solved within 48 hours using technology and CCTV footage Adilabad: Police swiftly solved the mystery behind the sensational murder of a Dalit youth by arresting six persons in Neradigonda on Sunday. Police seized five mobile phones, two motorcycles and empty beer bottles from the accused. Briefing newsmen, Utnoor ASP Ruthwik Sai Kotte said that Shaik Sumer and Gangadhari Sai Krishna, both from Neradigonda mandal, and Bojja Vishnuvardhan, Shaik Akram and Syed Noman, belonging to Boath town, were apprehended on charges of killing Nathari Sathish (23) on June 17. During interrogation, Sumer confessed to killing Sathish as he was obstructing his efforts to pursue a relationship with a girl. He allegedly strangled Sathish to death after forcing him to consume excessive liquor at an irrigation tank with the help of the other accused. He revealed that they later dumped the body in the tank. The accused further disclosed that they shifted Sathish’s two-wheeler to Adilabad town and threw his mobile phone from a train. Police initially registered a missing case after Sathish’s parents lodged a complaint when he went missing on June 17. They traced the body in the tank and altered the case to murder on June 19. Two special teams were formed to crack the mystery. Ruthwik said the investigators managed to unravel the mystery within 48 hours with the help of technology and CCTV camera footage. He stated that a case had been registered against the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Courtesy : Telangana Today Note: This news is originally published on https:/telanganatoday.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
A 16-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped in Kishangarhbas.
Khairthal-Tijara. A case of gang rape of a 16-year-old Dalit girl has come to light in a village in the Kishangarhbas police station area of Khairthal-Tijara district in Rajasthan. The victim’s grandmother, while filing the case on Sunday, stated that after the death of their son, the family had gone to the Ganges River to immerse his ashes. At around 12 a.m. on June 20th, two men from the same village forcibly abducted her granddaughter, who was sleeping at home. They took the girl to a nearby field, where two other men were present. The four men raped her. Police have registered a case and launched a search for the accused. Courtesy: Hindi News
As India Gets Hotter, Clothing Adds a Layer to Caste Inequality
Wearing breathable textiles like cotton is becoming a form of heat adaptation, but for many Dalit families, they remain out of reach. Inside the narrow lanes of Shahbad Dairy, a suburb outside north-west Delhi, is a concrete maze of houses packed tightly together. Trees are scarce. A breeze is hardly able to pass through these cramped and unventilated alleys, and by afternoon, the heat is oppressive and inescapable. Poonam and her sister-in-law Ritika, who live next door to each other, ask their kids not to play outdoors under the hot sun. But though the temperature outside is 40°C, it feels a lot hotter indoors. The tin and concrete roofs of their houses trap heat. With no windows, there is barely any ventilation. Had they been men, Poonam and Ritika could have changed into shorter or looser clothing. Instead, tradition dictates that they cover their bodies in multiple layers. “This material makes you sweat more. It does not absorb sweat,” says Poonam, gesturing towards her salwar kameez and dupatta made of synthetic textiles. This forms a three-piece ensemble consisting of a long tunic, ankle-length trousers and a scarf – the dupatta – draped around the shoulders, neck and sometimes over the head. As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, experts Dialogue Earth spoke to say wearing natural fabrics like cotton and linen is emerging as a form of heat adaptation. But for many like Poonam and Ritika, they are a luxury, costing double their synthetic counterparts. Their family belongs to the Dalit community, a historically oppressed group of castes. Despite finishing high school, their father-in-law Paale Ram was pushed into sanitation work because of his caste, cleaning sewers like his father and grandfather before him. His sons do the same work, their family’s economic circumstances reflecting generations of exclusion from better paid and more secure livelihoods. (The Dalit families Dialogue Earth spoke to do not use last names to avoid further caste-based discrimination.) The family’s earnings barely cover household expenses, leaving little money for clothing. In Delhi, many of the workers most exposed to extreme heat, including sanitation and informal labourers, continue to come from historically marginalised caste communities. A 2024 analysis by The Hindu notes that nearly 70% of sewer and septic tank workers in India belong to oppressed castes. For workers spending long hours performing physically demanding labour in hot conditions, clothing matters. But “when income is limited, food and shelter become bigger priorities,” says Afrose Farid, a professor in the Department of Textile Design at Kerala’s National Institute of Fashion Technology. The cost of comfort Natural fabrics such as cotton and linen are widely preferred for hot weather because of their superior moisture absorption and breathability, Farid tells Dialogue Earth. Synthetic materials like polyester and nylon can feel uncomfortable in extreme heat, particularly for those spending long hours outdoors or in poorly ventilated homes. But the cost of polyester and cotton in India differ significantly. Dalit families struggle to reconcile that steep difference. Paale Ram earns around INR 35,000 (USD 371) a month, while Poonam’s husband, a bus conductor who also cleans sewers, earns up to INR 40,000 (USD 424). Their combined income, for a family of seven, barely covers household expenses and their three children’s education. “A cotton salwar suit [consisting of a salwar kameez and dupatta] will cost you more than INR 1,000 (USD 10), whereas blended fabric or synthetic fibres will only cost you INR 300,” says Riya, who is also from a Dalit household in Shahbad Dairy. Her husband works on the city’s sewer lines and earns INR 15,000 a month. They have five kids, and buying them clothes made of breathable fabric has been an added expense the family never anticipated. “Unequal access to comfortable clothing is not just poverty but a caste issue,” says Bezwada Wilson, the national convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, an Indian organisation campaigning to eradicate manual scavenging, which means cleaning human waste from sewers by hand. Historically, clothing has been a tool of caste discrimination, Farid notes. “Earlier, caste-based discrimination focused on giving them less clothes to wear to humiliate them. But today, they are unable to access proper clothing because of their economic conditions,” she says. “In India, class is always… going to be affected by caste. You cannot take caste away from class,” anti-caste activist and designer Jay Sagathia tells Dialogue Earth. Double discrimination Marginalised communities face “double discrimination” – economic deprivation layered with caste-based exclusion that determines where services, infrastructure and dignity are available, notes Wilson, who is also from the Dalit community. Many Dalit families working in caste-linked occupations rely on second-hand clothing or local markets that cater to low-income customers, he says. Local markets often reflect assumptions about what poor communities can afford. “Near our houses, we won’t get cotton at all because they know that we are not using this,” Wilson adds. Despite India being one of the largest producers of cotton globally, with an industry employing up to 50 million people, the fabric remains out of reach for many low-income families. Sagathia says during visits to craft-producing communities in Gujarat, he met artisans from marginalised communities making intricate garments that were sold at prices they themselves could not afford. “The people who are making it are not able to wear it,” he says. Synthetic clothing could also become more ubiquitous in India through government schemes to boost the textile industry. In 2021, the government began offering companies incentives totalling over INR 10,000 crore (USD 1.1 billion) to expand production of manmade fabrics such as polyester, acrylic and viscose. Government officials told industry publication Apparel Resources earlier this month that the scheme could be extended by several years to accommodate more applicants. Unequal impacts of heat For five to six hours a day, 60-year-old Paale Ram wears a uniform made of synthetic materials to carry out his sanitation work, which involves shovelling waste from open drains near hot paved surfaces. Though it’s a simple vest worn over clothes, it traps
Unity among BCs, Dalits, minorities need of the hour: Markfed Director
Nava Chaitanya Bahujana Sangham organisation members felicitating Markfed Director Anepu Ramakrishna Naidu in Srikakulam on Sunday. Nava Chaitanya Bahujana Sangham organisation members felicitating Markfed Director Anepu Ramakrishna Naidu in Srikakulam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Andhra Pradesh Markfed Director and Turpu Kapu Samkshema Sangham’s State honorary president Anepu Ramakrishna Naidu said unity among the Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Minorities was need of the hour, asserting that these communities were not getting legitimate political opportunities as they face troubles from influential persons. The State Nava Chaitanya Bahujana Sangham invited Mr. Naidu as a chief guest to a meeting, in which the issues of Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, were discussed. The Markfed Director was also felicitated at the event. He said administration had to be done in accordance to the Indian Constitution which ensured several welfare measures and opportunities for neglected sections of the society. Mr. Naidu said political power needed to be shared with BCs, SCs and STs. Courtesy : The Hindu Note: This news is originally published on https:/thehindu.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Horror killing: Sister strangled to death; brother was angry over her eloping and marrying a Dalit boy.
When the husband was released from jail, he released a video demanding the arrest of his wife’s killers, prompting the police to launch an investigation. The girl’s brother was taken into custody and questioned, leading to the discovery of the murder. Reported by: In the Siwaipatti police station area of Muzaffarpur, a girl’s love marriage with a Dalit boy proved costly. Her brother Abhishek Kumar strangled her to death. When the police took the accused into custody and interrogated him, he confessed to the crime and explained the reason for the murder. The police arrested the accused brother and his accomplice and sent them to jail. Love Marriage with a Dalit Man The woman’s brother, Abhishek Kumar Yadav, told the police that his sister was in love with a Dalit man and had eloped with him and married him, leaving him deeply hurt and angry. When the man went to jail and the court sent the woman to her aunt’s house, the woman’s mother persuaded her to return home on Holi. Then, her brother, along with other relatives and associates, strangled the woman to death. The body was then cremated. The girl ran away from home in January. Gauri Shankar Kumar (22), son of Raju Ram, a resident of Ghansaut village, had been in a relationship with Sujata Kumari, a resident of Kodaria Gosaipur, since 2020. The girl was studying at her maternal uncle’s house in Ghansaut village. It was there that Sujata met Gauri Shankar and they would communicate. On January 18, 2026, they ran away from home. The girl’s family filed a police report. Gauri Shankar arrested from Haryana Gauri Shankar and Sujata got married at their friend’s house in Samastipur. On January 20, they moved to Haryana and began living there. Police arrested them on February 11 and brought them to Bihar on February 12. After presenting them in court, the man was sent to jail, and the girl was sent to her aunt’s house. After being released from jail, Gauri Shankar spoke to Sujata for the last time on the phone. After that, when he couldn’t hear from her, he went to the police and filed a complaint. When his complaint was not heard, he released a video and threatened suicide. Subsequently, the police became active, detained the woman’s brother, and began questioning him. The police uncovered the murder. Mani Bhushan Sharma, Correspondent, Muzaffarpur Edited by : Upendra Singh, Bihar Courtesy : Hindi News
A Dalit youth was brutally murdered by slitting his throat in Sant Kabir Nagar; an angry mob set the main accused’s house on fire.
A Dalit youth was brutally murdered in Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, for protesting against molestation. An enraged mob set the house of the main accused, Nasir, on fire. Uttar Pradesh: The Bakhira area of Sant Kabir Nagar district was gripped by intense tension on Friday. A day earlier, on Thursday, a 29-year-old Dalit youth was brutally murdered by slitting his throat with a sharp-edged weapon. The horrific incident sent shockwaves through the area, and angry villagers staged a protest by placing the body on the road. The situation escalated to the point where the angry mob, demanding justice, set the main accused’s house on fire. According to police, the deceased, Anand Kumar, a resident of Kolki village, was a tile-layer. On Thursday, while he was returning home, he was ambushed by the attackers near Babhani intersection. The accused brutally slit Anand’s throat and fled the scene. As news of the murder spread, the victim’s family and villagers erupted in anger, blocking the road for several hours. Initial investigations have revealed that the murder stems from a dispute that occurred approximately 10 days ago. Police say that during a function, Anand’s niece complained that the main accused, Nasir Ali, had molested her. Angered by this, Anand confronted Nasir, leading to a scuffle. It is believed that the murder was orchestrated to avenge this rivalry. An FIR has been registered at the Bakhira police station against three people, including Nasir Ali. One of the accused remains unidentified. Police have formed several teams to apprehend the killers. Since the incident, the accused and his family have fled their homes to neighboring villages. A heavy police force has been deployed to prevent any untoward incidents and maintain peace in the area. Additional Director General of Police (ADG) of Gorakhpur Zone, Mutha Ashok Jain, stated that the situation is currently under control and a vigorous search for the accused is underway. When the mob set the accused’s house on fire on Friday, senior police and administrative officials immediately arrived at the scene. They spoke with the victim’s family and villagers and calmed them down. The family’s clear demand was that the accused be arrested as soon as possible, given severe punishment, and that their house be demolished. Only after the administration provided firm assurances of a fair investigation and prompt legal action did the protesters decide to end their protest. Following this, the administration took possession of the body and sent it for post-mortem, and the family performed Anand’s last rites on Friday itself. This single incident has forever devastated a happy family. Anand leaves behind his wife and two innocent children, the youngest of whom is just three months old. Rajan Chaudhary Courtesy: Hindi News
A case of molestation and assault of a Dalit woman in Asandra: FIR filed on court orders, neighbor accused of filling water from a government tap
A case of molestation, assault, and caste-related abuse of a Dalit woman has come to light in the Asandra police station area of Barabanki district. The police did not take action against the accused, prompting the victim to file a petition in court. On Friday night, the police registered a case of assault and under the Harijan Act. In the petition filed with the court, the victim, from the Asandra police station area, stated that on the evening of May 30th, she had gone to fill water and wash clothes at the government tap in front of her house. When her neighbor, Narendra Verma, arrived and began making obscene remarks to her, she objected. According to the victim, Narendra Verma became enraged. He hurled caste-related abuse at her and pushed her to the ground. When she ran inside to save her life, the accused, Narendra Verma, also entered the house after her. He tore her clothes and beat her with kicks, punches, and sticks. Hearing the woman’s screams, her sister-in-law and other neighbors rushed to the scene. Seeing the neighbors approach, the accused, Narendra Verma, threatened to kill the victim and her family and fled. Following the incident, the victim called 112 and complained about filing a report at the police station. However, the victim alleges that the police, under the influence of the accused, did not take appropriate action. The victim approached the court for justice. On Friday night, on the orders of the court, Asandra Police Station Officer Anil Singh filed a case against the accused, Narendra Verma, under sections 333, 76, 115, 352, 351 of the Indian Penal Code, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act. The case is being investigated by CO Ramsanehi Ghat, Saurabh Srivastava. Neeraj Shukla | Haidergarh, Barabanki Courtesy: Hindi News
Thirty years on, justice remains elusive for Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana
A chapter in a major 30-year review of the PoA Act argues that institutional failures, rather than legislative gaps, remain the biggest obstacle to justice Thirty years after Parliament enacted the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, a landmark review of the law has concluded that the promise of justice for Dalits and Adivasis remains far from realised. Published by the Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation (HRF), The Elusive Search for Justice: 30 Year Review of the SCs & STs (PoA) Act brings together the work of former civil servants, lawyers, academics, human rights defenders and Dalit rights activists to assess how India’s principal anti-atrocities legislation has functioned over three decades. Across its chapters, the report paints a troubling picture of rising atrocities, persistently low conviction rates, and poor implementation of victim compensation schemes, weak monitoring mechanisms, and widespread institutional failures that continue to undermine access to justice. The report’s central conclusion is that while Parliament has repeatedly strengthened the law through amendments and expanded protections for victims, the institutions responsible for implementing these safeguards have largely failed to match the law’s ambition. Among the most revealing contributions to the volume is a chapter by activist, writer and human rights defender Vidya Bhushan Rawat, who examines the functioning of the Act in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana. While the broader report identifies national trends of weak implementation and institutional apathy, Rawat’s chapter shows how these failures manifest on the ground, in police stations, district administrations, courts and villages across northern India. Unlike chapters that focus on legislative history or national statistics, Rawat’s contribution is rooted in lived experiences. Drawing on field investigations, case studies, Right to Information disclosures and years of engagement with Dalit communities, he examines the obstacles faced by survivors seeking justice under the PoA Act. Rawat’s account suggests that the greatest barriers often emerge not in the courtroom but much earlier, at the stages of complaint registration, investigation and administrative response. Rawat’s central argument is that the crisis confronting the PoA Act is no longer one of legislative inadequacy. Over three decades, Parliament has progressively strengthened the law, expanded the list of recognised offences, enhanced victim protections and introduced new accountability mechanisms. Yet the effectiveness of these provisions ultimately depends upon the willingness of police officers, prosecutors, district administrations and local governments to enforce them. It is at this level, he argues, that the law repeatedly breaks down. The result is a system in which the formal existence of legal rights often bears little resemblance to the realities experienced by Dalit survivors attempting to access protection, accountability and justice. The hidden crisis behind atrocity statistics Rawat begins by challenging a common assumption that official crime statistics adequately capture the scale of caste violence. For many observers, NCRB data provides the principal measure of atrocities committed against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Rawat argues that these figures reveal only a fraction of the reality. The larger problem, he suggests, lies in the vast number of incidents that never enter official records at all. Across Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states, Dalit complainants frequently encounter resistance at the very first stage of the criminal justice process. Police officials may refuse to register FIRs under the PoA Act, dilute charges, classify incidents as ordinary criminal disputes, or encourage parties to arrive at informal compromises. In many villages, survivors must navigate local power structures before they can even reach a police station. The consequence is that official statistics may reflect only those cases that successfully overcome multiple layers of institutional resistance. Rawat argues that any assessment of the PoA Act that relies exclusively on registered cases risks overlooking the structural barriers that prevent countless incidents from being formally recognised as atrocities in the first place. Uttar Pradesh: The limits of legal protection Among the three states examined, Uttar Pradesh occupies a central place in Rawat’s analysis. The state has long recorded some of the highest numbers of crimes against Scheduled Castes in the country. Yet Rawat contends that these figures tell only part of the story. The deeper problem lies in the persistent inability of victims to secure meaningful justice after a case is reported. According to the chapter, many police officials continue to approach caste atrocities through the lens of local disputes rather than recognising them as manifestations of entrenched social discrimination. Complaints are often discouraged, investigations delayed, and statutory provisions under the PoA Act either ignored or improperly applied. Rawat argues that this administrative response reflects a broader reluctance within state institutions to confront caste power directly. Rather than functioning as neutral enforcers of the law, institutions frequently mirror the social hierarchies that the legislation was intended to challenge. The Case of Shivam: A child, a crushed arm, and a system that failed To illustrate these dynamics, Rawat recounts the case of Shivam, an eight-year-old Dalit child from Jaunpur district whose arm was allegedly crushed in a sugarcane-crushing machine owned by an upper-caste family in December 2015. The incident should have triggered an immediate legal response. Instead, according to the account presented in the chapter, the family encountered resistance from law-enforcement authorities when they sought to pursue the matter. Efforts to register a complaint were allegedly met with indifference, while those assisting the family reportedly faced hostility from officials. What makes the case particularly significant for Rawat is not merely the injury itself but the social environment surrounding it. The family belonged to a community economically dependent upon dominant-caste landowners. Villagers were reportedly unwilling to speak openly about the incident, fearing repercussions. The imbalance of power was such that even seeking justice carried social and economic risks. Ultimately, concerns for safety and survival reportedly forced the family to leave the village. For Rawat, the episode demonstrates how caste violence cannot be understood solely as a criminal act. It is sustained by relationships of economic dependence, social exclusion and institutional indifference that make accountability exceptionally difficult to achieve. Hundreds of cases, no convictions Perhaps the
Krishna Lanka CI Case: Dalit Youth’s Father Seeks Justice Over
Suicide He urged Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and other officials to respond immediately to the incident and sought an investigation to ensure justice for his son. Venkateswara Rao also denied allegations that he had compromised with the police. Vijayawada: The alleged disappearance of G Sai Krishna, whose mother accused Vijayawada’s Krishna Lanka police CI Nagaraju of torturing her son to death and then secretly cremating his body without the knowledge of family members, has created a sensation in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In the lines of this case, a selfie video surfaced of a Dalit man, Perupogu Kranthi Kumar, who alleged that he was tortured by the tainted CI Nagaraju and was taking his life, unable to bear the harassment. The incident took place on May 21 Perupogu Venkateswara Rao Madiga, the father of the deceased, who is the AP MRPS State President, has appealed to AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to order an inquiry and take action against the former CI, alleging that his son committed suicide due to the CI’s actions. Speaking to the media at the Vijayawada Press Club on Friday, he also made some allegations about how the police system worked and said that some police officials turn rowdy-sheeters into informants for personal gain and subject individuals to torture using “third-degree” methods if they do not comply with their demands. He also stated that police harassment on the grounds of caste-based slurs came to light only because his son had recorded a selfie video before his suicide, mentioning that since he was a Dalit, he was being subjected to harassment. He urged Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and other officials to respond immediately to the incident and sought an investigation to ensure justice for his son. Venkateswara Rao also denied allegations that he had compromised with the police and accepted Rs 10 lakhs. The suspended inspector has been charged with wrongful confinement, murder and destruction of evidence under the BNS Act, and a high-level team is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation into the case. Courtesy : Deccan Chronicle Note: This news is originally published on https:/deccanchronicle.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights