Mumbai: Offences against STs rise 30 per cent rise three years

According to statistics provided by the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) department of the Maharashtra Police, 400 cases were registered in 2016 under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act following complaints by ST members. This number went up to 467 in 2017 and 527 in 2018. The 2018 figure is nearly 30 per cent more when compared to 2016. In the current year, till April, 175 such cases have been registered.

A senior state police officer said that the rise in numbers is on account of increasing awareness among members of the community about the provisions of the Act. “PCR centres have been set up across the state and they monitor every FIR registered under the SC/ST Act. The centres are also responsible for raising awareness levels among members about the SC/ST Act. Several NGOs are also working in raising awareness,” the officer added.

An officer linked to the PCR department added, “Last year alone, more than 2,000 workshops were conducted across the state to inform people about the Act. We also found cases where police officers lacked awareness about the laws. Action was taken against them. The number of such FIRs, however, has come down where the police have refused to take congizance of an offence and people have had to approach courts.”

The officer said that the Nashik Range, which also includes Nandurbar and Dhule, have seen the maximum number of such cases. “Nandurbar and Dhule have many settlements belonging to the ST community and hence, proportionately the number of cases are high.”

After Nashik, Amravati, Nagpur and Kolhapur have reported the highest number of such FIRs. Suresh Mengde, holding the additional charge of Inspector General (PCR) said, “The most important way to minimise such offences is to create awareness. We are trying our best to ensure that more people become aware about these laws.”