New Delhi: Taking a serious note of the hand
chopping incident of a Dalit labourer in Haryana, National
Commission for Scheduled Castes on Saturday said the accused would
not be spared and shall be booked under appropriate sections
of Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The Commission also deputed a central team to undertake
on-the-spot investigations and to prescribe relief and
rehabilitation measures to victim Rajesh Ranga alias Raju,
whose arm was chopped off by a man belonging to the upper
caste for drinking water from his pitcher.
National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman
P L Punia said the Commission is committed to deliver justice
to members of SCs and in such cases, the accused would not be
spared and will be booked under the appropriate sections of
the POA Act, 1989.
The incident took place in Daulatpur village of Haryana's
Hisar district.
"In order to perform Constitutional duties, atrocity
cases against members of Dalit communities are viewed
seriously and justice is provided irrespective of any
political party," Punia said in a statement here.
The NCSC Chairman said he immediately contacted District
Magistrate Amit Agrawal and Superintendent of Police Ashwin
Shenvi and enquired about the incident.
A central team under Joint Secretary T Theethan was
deputed to see the victim and for detailed investigations, he
said.
"The District Magistrate informed that the victim was
provided monetary assistance of Rs 50,000 and provided free
treatment at a private hospital. The state government has also
sanctioned a sum of Rs 3 lakh as a part of rehabilitation
package. The SP informed that the accused was arrested and a
charge sheet is being filed soon," the statement said.
According to the police, Ranga, a daily wager of Sanyana
village in Haryana's Fatehabad district, had gone in search of
work in Daulatpur village.
The labourer had stopped to drink water from the pitcher
of Rajendar, a farmer. But hardly had the Dalit touched the
pitcher, the farmer got enraged and attacked him with a
sickle.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, February 18, 2012, 21:12