annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Uttar Pradesh
brick-kiln at Pipra Jatampur village under
the Kubersthan police station in
Kushinagar district. The victims were
workers at the brick-kiln. 32 Initially the
police had allegedly refused to lodge a
case. Only after the visit of Deputy
Inspector General of Police on 26
February 2004, three days after the rape,
the case was registered. 33
On 15 June 2004, an NGO, Bachpan
Bachao Andolan, carried out a raid in the
Great Roman Circus at Gonda, following a
complaint filed by the parents of 11 girls,
and rescued some of them. The others
could not be freed as the district authorities
had allegedly “tipped off” the circus
management which had hid them. The
minor girls were allegedly forced to work
as bonded labourers and sexually
exploited by the owners. 34
IV. Atrocities against the Dalits
In Uttar Pradesh, many tehsil officials
have allegedly openly joined hands with
members of upper castes to usurp the lands
of the tribals, backwards or Dalits. In one
such instance, in Manikpur in tehsil Karvi
in Chitrakoot district in 1994, the police
filed complaints against Nayab Tehsildar
under sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of
Indian Penal Code accusing him of
manipulating revenue records to show
living people as dead with a view to let
affluent people from upper caste usurp the
land of lower caste people. In this case, 21
people including two were Kanungoes and
three lekhpals were named as accused. The
district administration took necessary
action and returned the lands to the owners.
But, in the meantime, land mafia came into
picture and obtained a stay order from the
court. Since then the pleas of the petitioners
were allegedly not heard. In Ajitpara village
of Banda district, 22 people were shown as
dead and their lands had been given to
others. The case filed in the in court has
been dragging for the last one decade. 35
Yet, the Cabinet of State government
decided on 26 July 2004 to introduce
amendments in the UP Zamindari Abolition
and Land Reforms Act 1950 to lift the ban
on sale of land owned by Dalit farmers. As
per the existing act, any dalit owning 3.125
acres or less land is not allowed to sell the
same to non-dalits. Lifting of the ban would
pave the way for malpractices and atrocities
and violence by the upper castes against the
Dalits will intensify in order to force them
to sell their lands. 36
On 2 March 2004, two Dalits were
reportedly shot dead at Gopiganj area in
Bhadohi district by gunmen. The cause
leading to the killing was believed to be a
dispute over cultivation. An FIR was
registered against four people in this
connection but no arrest was made. 37
On the evening of 25 July 2004, upper
caste members allegedly pulled down the
house of Gaya Prasad, a Dalit at Dulapur
village of Sultanpur district. The upper
caste members also set ablaze two
thetched houses and roughed up a woman
in the same village. Gaya Prasad
reportedly lodged a complaint with the
police and a case was registered in the
Mushiganj police station. 38
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