BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has sought reports from the collectors, district magistrates and SPs of all states on steps being taken to prevent atrocities against SCs and STs under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Hearing a petition filed by a human rights activist Anil Mallik recently, the rights panel also sought to know what steps are being taken to create awareness among people to prevent such crimes.
The petitioner had sought OHRC intervention into three cases of caste violence in the last two years where no action had been taken to punish the culprits.
On December 27 last year, two SC youths Bikram Bhoi and Dinesh Bhoi of Sundargram village in Cuttack district were paraded on streets with garlands of slippers around their necks and their heads shaved on the allegation of theft.
Although a case was registered under the SC ST (PoA) Act, no action has been taken against the accused.
On November 16, an orphaned tribal girl of Jurabandh village in Balangir was force fed human excreta by one Abhay Bagh when she tried to stop him from damaging her standing crops.
Although an FIR was lodged, the accused has not been brought to book. Similarly, no arrest has been made in a July 2023 case where an SC boy Felu Behera of Pipili was paraded with a garland of slippers around his neck at Pipili market over a water motor theft.
The OHRC asked the district magistrates to act on the cases in accordance with law so that such incidents can be prevented in future.