The National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NCDO) on Monday came down heavily on the Jagatsinghpur district police administration for the inordinate delay in arresting the culprits involved in the murder of dalit engineering student Abinash Behera at Paradip.
“Though miscreants beat Abinash to death on July 15 this year at Paradip, the police are yet to arrest them. The police are also yet to register cases under the SC and ST atrocity prevention laws against the accused and have only registered a murder case,” said organisation president Ashok Kumar Mallick. Mallick warned that if the culprits are not nabbed within seven days then the organisation would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence.
Stating that the police administration is not taking prompt actions on dalit atrocity cases, Mallick said, “In 2012 and 2013, more than 120 such cases were registered at various police stations in the Jagatsinghpur district. In many cases, the district Superintendent of Police has appeared before the National SC Commission for police inaction. “The case of Abinash is just an example of police apathy towards dalit people,” said Mallick and demanded Rs 20 lakh as compensation to Abinash’s family.