Crimes against Dalits, tribals rise by over 9% amid lockdown

The country witnessed a lockdown and restrictions owing to Covid-19 for the most part of last year but there was no let up in atrocities against Dalits and tribals, as the number of such cases rose by over 9% compared to 2019.

But on a positive note, the conviction rate has risen in cases of atrocities against both the underprivileged sections nationally. States like Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat and Odisha, however, fared very badly when it came to ensuring punishment for the perpetrators of crime against Dalits.

The Crime in India 2020 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showed that crimes against Scheduled Castes or Dalits rose from 45,961 cases in 2019 to 50,291 last year -- an increase of 9.4%. In 2018, there were 42,793 cases.

In the BJP-led NDA ruled Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Uttarakhand, the cases rose last year while in Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa, the cases were in decline.

When it comes to Congress or UPA-led governments, an increase in such cases was witnessed in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Maharashtra while it was a declining trend in Punjab and Chhattisgarh.

The cases declined in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal while it rose in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Also read: Sedition, UAPA cases decrease in 2020; convictions still at low: NCRB data

Uttar Pradesh with 12,714 alone accounted for 25.28% of the total cases of crime against Dalits followed by Bihar (7,368 in 2020 as against 6,544 in 2019) and Rajasthan (7,017 as against 6,794). The cases in Madhya Pradesh rose from 5,300 to 6,899 while in Maharashtra, it rose from 2,150 to 2,569.

When it comes to conviction rate, there was an increase from 32.1% to 42.4% last year -- convictions in 3,241 cases out of 7,637 in which trial was completed. A total of 6,137 people were convicted across India last year for crimes against Dalits, while 1,108 were discharged and 7,441 acquitted.

Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 70.7%. Rajasthan had 48.7% while Madhya Pradesh recorded 11.8%.

Also read: Crimes against women, children drop in 2020; disobedience cases go up drastically: NCRB

Karnataka's record in conviction was dismal at 4.4% though it rose from 3.9% in 2019. Last year, the state managed convictions only in 17 of the 370 cases in which trial was completed. 29 people, including one woman, were convicted in Karnataka while 657, including 39, managed to get acquitted.

Rajasthan had convictions in 886 cases while Uttar Pradesh had it in 3,955 cases.

On cases of crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs), the cases rose from 7,570 in 2019 to 8,272 -- an increase of 9.3%. In 2018, the number of such cases was 6,528. The NCRB report showed that the conviction rate rose from 26.4% to 30.1%.

Nationally, an analysis showed, the largest chunk of cases of crime against Dalits and tribals were that of simple hurt -- 32.9% in case of Dalits and 27.2% in case of tribals.

For Dalits, cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act came second with 8.5% (4,273 cases) followed by criminal intimidation with 7.5% (3,788 cases).

Rape cases (13.7% or 1,137 cases) were the second most crime against tribals followed by assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty with 10.7% (885 cases).

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