The Bihar Government has decided to set up special courts for disposal of cases relating to atrocities committed against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) figures, Bihar witnessed 4,821 incidents of crime committed against persons belonging to SCs and 119 cases of crime committed against persons belonging to STs in 2012. The State had accounted for 14.32 per cent of total such crimes committed against persons belonging to SCs.
State SC/ST Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi told mediapersons in Patna on Friday that the special courts would help speedy trial of SC/ST cases and would also ensure that witnesses do not turn hostile in courts due to any “extraneous influence”.
During his recent visit to Bihar in aftermath of the midday meal tragedy in Saran district, Vice-chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes Raj Kumar Verka had even demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the plea that his Government had failed to check atrocities against Dalits in the State.
He had also deplored low conviction rate in case related to SC/ST atrocities in the State, accusing the Government of not initiating effective steps on this front too. According to him, the State has a conviction rate of only three per cent in cases related to atrocities against Dalits in comparison to the national average of 35 to 40 per cent.
Only recently, an 80-year-old Mahadalit was killed when members of a community tried to foist the national flag in violation of a diktat issued by the upper caste people in Rohtas district on August 15.
The Minister said that the special courts would be set up to deal with cases of atrocity against members of the SC/ST groups exclusively.
The setting up of the special courts would not only help check crimes against members belonging to SCs and STs but these courts will also offer justice to the lowest strata of the society without any inordinate delay, he elaborated.
The Chief Minister has asked officers of the law department to make a request to the Patna High Court to speed up the process for setting up the special courts.
Such special courts will be set up in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Begusarai and Bhagalpur districts.
Bihar has one special police station in each district headquarters for registering and investigating cases relating to atrocities against member belonging to SCs and STs.