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