The BJP-led Centre has conceded in Parliament that cases of atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities had gone up considerably during 2014 and 2016.

Ironically, the Centre’s admission about increasing atrocities against SC.STs comes amid huge uproar in North Indian States  over the Supreme Court’s latest verdict which seemingly seeks to scale down punishments meted out to perpetrators of atrocities – especially  Govt. employees – against SC/STs.  The order was passed on complaints that SC/STs were misusing provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the higher officials.

9 persons died in violence in Northern India yesterday even as Centre made a request to the Supreme Court to take up on ‘emergency basis’ its petition seeking review of the above verdict.  Responding to a query in Lok Sabha this morning, Union Minister of Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir informed that violent incidents against SC/STs had gone up considerably during 2014 and 2016.

“40,300 cases of violence against SCs filed in 2014 came down to 38,564 in 2015.  However, it rose considerably to 40,774 in 2016; similarly, cases of violence against STs stood at 6,788 in 2014 but came down to 6275 in 2015 only to increase to 6,565 in 2016,” Ahir said, indicating that diluting punishment under the provisions of SC/ST (POA) Act would only make matters worse for these embattled communities.