The Hindu : 'Killings of Dalits at Jhajjar not deliberate'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 10, 2002

National

National

'Killings of Dalits at Jhajjar not deliberate'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 9. The Government today sought to deny that the killing of five Dalits in the Jhajjar district of Haryana was a deliberate atrocity against Scheduled Castes.

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on atrocities against Dalits in Haryana, Bihar and elsewhere, the Union Minister of State for Home, I. D. Swami, said ``it took place because of the mistaken impression that a cow slaughter was being committed openly.''

"If anybody is found guilty in the inquiry report of the Divisional Commissioner, Rohtak, the State Government would not hesitate in taking action against them,'' the Minister said. The detailed statement on the Dalit killings was made in response to the concern voiced by members including the Lok Janshakti Party leader, Ram Vilas Paswan.

Though the Opposition members expressed dissatisfaction with the Minister's statement and wanted to put questions to him, it was disallowed by the Speaker who said they could quiz him if the matter came up for discussion at a later date.

According to the statement, the five deceased were skinning a dead cow they had purchased from a hide contractor along the roadside on October 15 when they were spotted by villagers returning from Dussehra celebrations in Jhajjar. Concluding that the five were indulging in cow slaughter, the crowd beat them up before handing them over to the police at Dulina police post.

Though preliminary inquiries by police revealed that the five had bought a dead cow, the mob, which had swelled as word spread, forced its way into the police station. Police were outnumbered and they decided not to fire at the mob for fear of worsening the situation. After beating the five Dalits, the mob threw two of them into an adjacent hut that had been set on fire during the violence.

In all, 23 persons have been arrested under Section 3(2) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Apart from sending the bodies of the five Dalits for post-mortem examination, the police also conducted a seimilar examination on the cow which established that it had died at least 24 hours before the incident.

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

National