By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh stood on top in cases of atrocities on Dalits with 23.78 per cent according to the latest report of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment .
Out of a total of 51,656 cases registered under Scheduled and Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Uttar Pradesh (UP) accounted for 23.78 per cent, followed by Rajasthan with 16.75 per cent and Madhya Pradesh with 14.97 per cent.
Out of a total of 9,735 cases filed for STs Madhya Pradesh reported the highest with 30.61 per cent, the report revealed.
Nearly 97.7 per cent of all cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes in 2022 were reported from 13 States, with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh recording the highest number of such crimes , the new Government report added.
According to the report under the Act, the majority of atrocities were also concentrated in 13 States, which reported 98.91 per cent of all cases in 2022.
Of the 51,656 cases registered under the law for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in 2022 , Uttar Pradesh accounted for 23.78 per cent of the total cases with 12,287 followed by Rajasthan at 8651 cases (16.75 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh with 7,732bcases ( 14.97 per cent).
Other States with a significant number of cases of atrocities against SCs were Bihar with 6799 (13.16 per cent, Odisha with 3,576 (6.93 per cent and Maharashtra with 2,706 (5.2 per cent. These six States accounted for nearly 81 per cent of the total cases.
“ Thirteen states, cumulatively accounting for 97.7 per cent (51,656) of the total cases (52,866) relating to offences of atrocities against members SCs, registered under the Act, in conjunction with the Indian Penal code, during the year 2022, the report said.
Similarly, the majority of cases of atrocities against STs were concentrated in 13 states of the country. Of the 9735 cases registered under the law for STs , Madhya Pradesh reported the highest number with 2,979 cases (30.61 per cent), the report added.
Rajasthan had the second highest number of cases with 2,498 (25.66 per cent) while Odisha recorded 773 (7.94 per cent) The other States with a significant number of cases included Maharashtra with 691 (7.10 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh with 499 (5.13 per cent).The data also provided insight into the status of investigations and charge sheeting under the Act.
Among the SC-related cases, 60.38 per cent led to charge sheets being filed while 14.78 per cent were concluded with final reports due to reasons such as false claims or lack of evidence. By the end of 2022, investigation was pending in 17,166 cases.
For ST-related cases, 63.32 per cent resulted in charge sheets being filed while 14.71 per cent ended with final reports. At the end of the period under review, 2702 cases involving atrocities against STs were still under investigation.
One of the most concerning trends highlighted in the report is the declining conviction rate for cases under the Act. In 2022, the conviction rate dropped to 32.4 per cent from 39.2 per cent in 2020. Moreover 498 districts in 14 States only 194 had established special courts to expedite trials in these cases.
The report also identified specific districts particularly prone to atrocities with only 10 States and Union Territories declaring such districts. It emphasized the need for targeted interventions in these districts to curb the caste-based violence and ensure stronger protection for vulnerable communities.
SC/ST protection cells had been set up in 25 States out of a total of 28 States and six Union Territories, according to the report.
Special police stations for registration of complaints of offences against SCs and STs have been set up by Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
