Dalit outfit alleges prosecution by parties By Ashraf Padanna October 10, 2011 Print Send to Friend
TRIVANDRUM: Dominant political groups in Kerala worried about losing their clout in the Dalit settlements are unleashing violence, a prominent Dalit outfit has alleged. Leaders of Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM), a group engaged in empowerment activities in these colonies, said the attackers often target women and children and in some cases their houses were ransacked. Police also register false cases against the victims instead of tormentors. “Several houses came under attack by party workers as we started refusing to attend their rallies and participate in their agitations. But the police in most cases booked the victims instead of their attackers,” said the DHRM’s young chairman VV Selvaraj. Selvaraj, formerly an assistant manager with a telecom service provider, was arrested by the police along with a dozen of his associates a couple of years back for allegedly hacking a morning walker. He is out on bail but the police are yet to frame charges against them for want of evidence. “The police launched a crackdown on us immediately after the killing which was among a dozen such cases in which we were falsely accused of arson and looting. They sometimes burn their own properties and lodge complaint with the police against us,” he said on Sunday. Selvaraj launched the outfit four years back and it has since been active in Dalit colonies, especially in the southern parts of Kerala. According to him, it teaches against drug addiction and alcoholism and encourages education and savings among the Dalit youths through nonviolent means. “Half a million Dalit people have been influenced by our propagation of Buddhist ideals and they no more indulge in abuse of drugs or any criminal activities. They also stopped taking orders from their past political bosses who wanted them as mercenaries,” he said. A section of the media, quoting police sources, alleged DHRM role in at least eight murders in three districts so far and the initial suspicion in such cases always lead to the outfit. But the real killers would soon fall into the police net. He said it do not encourage any underground activities and ask it members, to wear uniforms carrying images of Ambedkar to be identified easily. -- Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM) www.blackvoice24.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l80S4xCA1MM&feature=player_embedded -- * * * * * * -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
