It is ironic that even after 55 years of independent governance and 54 years since the Univer
sal Declaration of Human Rights, Dalits are still struggling for freedom, dignity and justice. Virtually every day, there are reports of Dalits being discriminated against, humiliated or killed, Dalit women paraded naked or raped, or the basic human rights of Dalits violated in myriad ways.

Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 3,72,716 cases were registered with the police nationwide as cognisable crimes against the Dalits. The actual figure could still be higher as there was every possibility of all the cases not being registered for reasons of caste hold on institutions of the state and attendant bias in the administration.

The general condition of education among the Dalits is pitiable. It is a matter of common knowledge that all states have not ensured education for Dalits. As per 1991 census, the literacy rate among the Dalits was only 37.41%. And as far as the case of Haryana is concerned only 39.22% of Dalits are literate. The dropout rate among Dalits in Haryana at the primary stage is 36.01%, at middle stage 59.64% and at secondary stage 78.12%.

According to the 1991 Census, 81% of the Dalit population lives in rural areas and only 19% in urban areas. In Haryana, 46.56% of Dalits in rural areas live below poverty line whereas in the urban areas the figure is 23.58%. It is also a fact that 81% of the Dalit population in Haryana owns less than half acre of land. Large under utilization of various development outlays have also been reported from Haryana and other Indian states.

Five persons, belonging to the Dalit section of society, Virender and Dayachand from Badshahpur village, Totaram from Aklimpur Village, Raju from Tikli Village (minor, age – 16 years) and Kailash from Karnal were lynched and burnt after rumours were circulated about their killing a cow. The incident happened on the evening of October 15, 2002 and the extent of police complicity makes the incident even more shocking.

Testimonies of the relatives of the victims revealed that two of the 5 victims were burnt and it was difficult to recognize their bodies. Relatives also found blood splattered on the surface of the room in which the dead bodies were kept inside the Dulina Police Post.

The conduct of the police including non–registering of FIRs and not providing post–mortem reports, inquest reports and panchnama details has been influenced and are partisan. Main accused who have been identified are not named in the FIR.

Property of the dead victims was also destroyed as also shops belonging to other Dalits in the area.

Three of the victims — two from Badshahpur and one from Karnal — were engaged in their traditional occupation of leather tanning. They also had government license for the same. Of the other two victims, one was a driver of the truck and the other the cleaner.

Ø On the date of incident, they had loaded the truck with dead animal skin and were going towards Karnal which is known for leather trade and industry. They took the route through Dulina Police Post, which is on the main road.

Ø Virender’s father, Ratan Singh told the NCDHR team: "The story of skinning of a dead cow is just a cover-up. We have been doing leather tanning for three generations. There is no question of them skinning a cow by the side of the road. They worked on contracts, which they got from municipality auctions. The truck in which five Dalits were travelling had cow hides and would never carry a carcass."

Ø Dayachand’s father Budhram alleges that according to his investigations, the police stopped the truck and asked them for a hefty bribe. When they refused to pay they were beaten up mercilessly and a case registered against them under the Cow Slaughter (Prevention) Act. Since one of them got seriously injured or perhaps killed, the police itself spread the story that they were killing a cow.

Ø In the first spate of rumours spread, VHP activists were on record saying that they heard that "some Muslims are engaged in cow killing".

Ø The family members of the victims informed the fact–finding team members that they do not do skinning of a dead cow in this manner. In fact, the local Panchayat allocates land in villages where it is done through well–established procedures.

Ø The connivance between the police and the VHP is illuminating. It remains a mystery how the VHP activists came to know about the alleged cow killing instantly. The police inaction against the National vice–president of the VHP, Acharya Giriraj Kishore who has publicly justified the killing of five Dalits by stating that according to the Hindu Shastras the life of a cow is more important than the life of a human being is shocking. n